LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 
SANWEGO 


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THE  GROWTH    AND    DEVELOPMENT 

OF  THE  CATHOLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


THE 
GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

OF   THE 

CATHOLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

IN   THE    UNITED    STATES 


BY 


REV.  J.  A.  BURNS,  C.S.C.,  PH.D. 

President  Holy  Cross  College,    Washington,  D.C., 

A  uthor  of  "  The  Catholic  School  System  in  the  United  States;   its  Principles, 
Origin,  and  Establishment  " 


NEW  YORK,       CINCINNATI.       CHICAGO 
BENZIQER     BROTHERS 

PRINTERS    TO   THE  PUBLISHERS    OF 

HOLY  APOSTOLIC    SEE          BENZIGEK's  MAGAZINE 

1912 


permfssu  Superiorum. 


IRibil  Obstat. 


REV.  REMY  LAFORT,  D.D.. 

Censor  Libro-rum. 


ITmpdmatur. 


CARDINAL  FARLEY, 

A  rchbishop  of  New    York. 


NEW  YORK,  Junes,  1912. 


COPYRIGHT,   1912,  BY  BENZIGER  BROTHERS 


PREFACE 

IN  A  previous  volume,  entitled  "The  Catholic 
School  System  in  the  United  States:  Its  Principles, 
Origin,  and  Establishment,"  the  history  of  the 
Catholic  school  movement  in  this  country  was 
outlined  from  its  origin  in  early  Colonial  times 
down  to  the  great  immigration,  about  the  year 
1840.  The  present  volume  is  a  continuation  of 
the  same  study.  The  characteristic  feature  of  the 
school  movement  during  the  long  period  covered 
by  the  first  volume  was  the  slow  but  steady  growth 
of  the  schools.  During  the  period  that  is  now 
studied,  this  feature  continued  to  be  predominant 
as  long  as  the  first  great  influx  of  Irish  and  Ger- 
man immigration  lasted;  but  about  the  time  of 
the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  which 
was  held  in  1866,  a  new  era  in  American  Catholic 
school  history  may  be  said  to  have  begun,  an  era 
that  was  characterized  by  the  efforts  made  to 
develop  and  perfect  as  well  as  to  expand  the 
existing  system.  The  author  has,  accordingly, 
aimed  at  bringing  out  into  clear  relief  these  two 
essential  features  of  growth  and  development  that 
marked  the  course  of  the  school  movement  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Immigration  Period  to  the 
present  time.  The  first  four  chapters,  as  well  as 
the  sixth,  deal  with  the  continued  expansion  of  the 
school  system;  the  succeeding  chapters  take  up, 
one  after  another,  in  broadly  historical  sequence, 

5 


6  Preface 

those  various  elements  of  the  Catholic  school 
which  became  the  objects  of  the  efforts  put  forth 
for  its  improvement;  while  towards  the  end  of  the 
work  a  study  is  made  of  the  growth  of  the  schools 
of  the  foreign  nationalities. 

It  is  the  author's  hope  that  the  present  volume, 
like  the  preceding  one,  may  interest  non-Catholic 
as  well  as  Catholic  students  of  education.  His 
conviction,  in  undertaking  and  carrying  on  these 
studies,  has  been  that  so  vast  and  important  a 
thing  as  the  Catholic  parish  school  system,  which 
has  been  built  up  at  a  cost  of  such  great  and 
continual  sacrifice,  which  was  begun  in  good  faith 
at  a  time  when  denominational  schools  were  the 
order  of  the  day,  and  which  long  antedates  the 
federal  and  the  state  constitutions,  must  command 
the  respect  if  not  the  admiration  of  non-Catholics 
when  they  come  to  know  it  such  as  it  is  and  such 
as  it  has  been;  and  that  it  can  not  fail  to  enlist  the 
good  will  and  sympathy  of  all  those  who  can  be 
brought  to  appreciate  the  real  purpose  for  which 
it  stands.  It  is  only  through  a  better  mutual 
understanding  in  this  way  that  Catholics  and  non- 
Catholics  can  ever  arrive  at  a  settlement  of  the 
"  school  question  "  that  will  be  satisfactory  to 
both. 

Chapters  I,  V,  and  VIII  appeared  in  the  Catho- 
lic Educational  Review  during  1911-12;  and 
Chapter  XI  formed  part  of  an  article  contributed 
to  the  American  Ecclesiastical  Review  for  May, 
1911. 

JAMES  A.  BURNS,  C.  S.  C. 

HOLY  CROSS  COLLEGE, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 
MARCH  7,  1912. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 5 


CHAPTER  I 
CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  THE  IMMIGRATION  PERIOD 

Economic  and  Social  Factors.  The  Church.  The  Immi- 
grants. Educational  Conditions  7 

CHAPTER  II 

TEACHERS  AND  TEACHING  COMMUNITIES  DURING  THE 
IMMIGRATION  PERIOD 

A  General  View.  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
— Mother  Frances  Clarke.  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph — 
Mother  St.  John  Fournier.  Mother  Theodore  Guerin, 
and  the  Sisters  of  Providence.  Sister  Louise — The 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  (Namur).  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross — Mother  Angela.  Mother  Warde,  and  the  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy.  The  Ursulines.  Sisters  of  the  Most 
Precious  Blood.  Sisters-Servants  of  the  Immaculate 
Heart  of  Mary  22 

CHAPTER  III 

TEACHERS  AND  TEACHING  COMMUNITIES  DURING  THE 
IMMIGRATION  PERIOD  (CONTINUED) 

Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Mt.  St.  Vincent,  N.  Y.  Sisters  of 
Charity,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Sisters  of  Charity,  of 
Convent  Station,  N.  J.  —  Mother  Mary  Xavier 
Mehegan.  Mother  Caroline  Friess — School  Sisters  of 

7 


Contents 


PAGE 

Notre  Dame.  Sisters  of  St.  Dominic  (Sinsinawa). 
Other  Sisters  of  St.  Dominic.  Sisters  of  St.  Francis. 
Benedictine  Sisters.  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word. 
Sisters  of  the  Presentation.  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Child 
Jesus.  Sisters  of  Divine  Providence 63 


CHAPTER  IV 
TEACHING  BROTHERS  DURING  THE  IMMIGRATION  PERIOD 

General  Conditions.  Brothers  of  the  Congregation  of  the 
Holy  Cross.  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools. 
Franciscan  Brothers.  Brothers  of  Mary.  Xaverian 
Brothers  97 

CHAPTER  V 
SCHOOL  LIFE  AND  WORK  DURING  THE  IMMIGRATION  PERIOD 

Material    Equipment.     Religious    Atmosphere.     Teachers 

and  Pupils.     Text-books 123 

CHAPTER  VI 
IN  THE  FAR  WESTERN  STATES 

Plan  and  Scope.  Iowa,  Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska, 
Kansas.  Montana,  Colorado,  Utah,  Wyoming,  Ore- 
gon, Washington,  Idaho.  California  and  Nevada. 
Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Oklahoma 146 

CHAPTER  VII 
SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

First  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore.  First  Plenary 
Council.  Provincial  Councils  of  Cincinnati.  Second 
Plenary  Council.  Instruction  of  the  Propaganda. 
Third  Plenary  Council  181 

CHAPTER  VIII 
GROWTH  OF  SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION 

The  Parish.  The  Diocese.  Early  Attempts  at  Organiza- 
tion. The  Third  Plenary  Council's  Plan.  The  Super- 


Contents 


intendent  System.  The  Teaching  Community.  Char- 
acter of  the  Teaching  Community.  Third  Plenary 
Council  on  Normal  Schools.  Summer  Institutes. 
Number  and  Distribution  of  Teachers 197 


CHAPTER  IX 
CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  STATE — DISCUSSION  OF  PRINCIPLES 

The  Question.  Divergence  of  Catholic  and  Non-Catholic 
Views.  Catholic  View — the  Church's  Right.  The 
Parent's  Right.  Right  of  the  State.  Divergent  Cath- 
olic Views.  Dr.  Bouquillon's  Views.  The  Contro- 
versy. Propositions  of  Cardinal  Satolli.  The  Pope's 
Letter  on  the  School  Question 217 

CHAPTER  X 
STATE-SUPPORTED  CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS 

Early  Conditions  and  Hopes.  Difficulties.  Bishop  Hughes' 
Plan.  The  Poughkeepsie  Plan.  The  Faribault  Plan. 
End  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Arrangement.  The  Lima 
School  Case.  Voluntary  Religious  Instruction  During 
School  Hours 248 

CHAPTER  XI 
THE  ECONOMIC  SIDE  OF  THE  SCHOOL  QUESTION 

General  Methods  of  Support.  Teachers'  Salaries.  The 
Saving  to  the  State.  Actual  Cost 274 

CHAPTER  XII 
SCHOOLS  OF  FOREIGN  NATIONALITIES 

A  General  View.  German  Schools.  French  Schools. 
Historical.  Teaching  Communities.  The  Curriculum. 
Number  and  Distribution  of  French  Schools.  Italian 
Schools.  Number  and  Distribution  of  Italian  Schools  294 

CHAPTER  XIII 
SCHOOLS  OF  FOREIGN  NATIONALITIES   (CONTINUED) 

Polish  Schools.  Beginnings.  Reaching  Bodies.  Number 
and  Distribution  of  Polish  Schools.  Growth  in  Efri- 


io  Contents 


PAGE 

ciency — the  Curriculum.  Assimilative  Forces  and 
Tendencies.  Spanish  Schools.  Bohemian  Schools. 
Number  and  Distribution.  Lithuanian  Schools.  Num- 
ber and  Distribution.  Slovak  Schools.  Number  and 
Distribution.  Greek  Schools.  Hungarian  Schools. 
Belgian  Schools.  Summary 311 


CHAPTER  XIV 
SCHOOLS  FOR  THE  INDIANS,  NEGROES,  ETC. 

Indian  Schools.  Schools  for  Colored  Catholics.  Industrial 
Schools.  Orphanages.  Schools  for  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb 338 

CHAPTER  XV 

CURRENT  MOVEMENTS  AND  PROBLEMS 

The  Curriculum.  The  General  Situation.  Present  and 
Future  Problems.  Time  Schedules  of  Typical  Parish 
Schools.  Time  Schedule  of  Typical  Public  Schools. 
Attendance.  Growth  of  Parish  School  Attendance. 
Number  of  Catholic  Pupils  in  Public  Schools.  Why 
Catholic  Children  Attend  the  Public  Schools.  Cath- 
olic High  School  Movement.  Historical.  College 
High  Schools. .  Independent  Secondary  Schools. 
Parish  and  Diocesan  High  Schools.  The  Catholic 
Educational  Association.  The  Colleges.  The  Sem- 
inaries. The  Schools.  Catholic  Educational  Asso- 
ciation  346 

APPENDIX  A 381 

APPENDIX   B 382 


CHAPTER   I 

CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS   IN  THE  IMMIGRATION 
PERIOD 

ECONOMIC   AND   SOCIAL    FACTORS 

THE  YEAR  1840  introduced  a  period  of  unprec- 
edented economic  prosperity  in  the  United  States, 
which  lasted  until  the  Civil  War.  The  opening 
up  of  new  and  quicker  routes  of  travel  and  traffic 
by  canals  and  railroads,  together  with  the  steady 
development  of  manufactures,  gave  abundance  of 
work,  and  the  demand  for  labor  brought  a  con- 
stantly increasing  stream  of  immigrants  from  the 
Old  World.  The  attraction  which  America  had 
for  the  laboring  classes,  owing  to  the  favorable 
conditions  here,  was  intensified  by  the  conditions 
existing  in  those  countries  from  which  they  came. 
The  Irish  famine,  particularly,  which  began  in 
1846,  drove  the  inhabitants  in  immense  numbers 
to  this  country,  over  a  million  and  a  quarter  arriv- 
ing during  the  ten  years,  1845-1 855. 1  Most  of 
these,  naturally,  were  Catholics.  As  the  Catholic 
population  in  the  United  States  in  the  former  year 
was  only  i, 071, 800, 2  these  figures  mean  that, 
within  a  single  decade,  the  Catholic  immigrants 
arriving  from  Ireland  alone  were  sufficient  in  num- 
ber to  double  the  Catholic  population  of  the 

1  Commons,  Races  and  Immigrants  in  America,  p.  66. 
2Cath.  Almanac,  1845. 


12        Catholic  Schools  in  the  Immigration  Period 

United  States.  German  Catholics,  too,  came  in 
large  numbers.  The  stream  of  German  emigra- 
tion grew  gradually  and  steadily  from  the  year 
1820,  until,  in  1851,  it  surpassed  even  that  from 
Ireland.  The  proportion  of  non-Catholics  was 
greater  among  the  German  immigrants  than 
among  the  Irish,  but  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  Germans  came  from  the  Rhine  provinces,  and 
were  staunchly  devoted  to  the  faith  and  religious 
traditions  of  their  fathers.  Ireland  and  Germany 
furnished  nearly  all  the  Catholic  immigrants  to 
the  United  States  up  to  the  Civil  War. 

THE    CHURCH 

It  is  necessary  to  bear  these  economic  and 
social  factors  in  mind,  if  we  would  penetrate  to 
the  causes  of  the  extraordinary  activity  of  the 
Church  in  the  United  States  during  the  period 
between  1840  and  the  Civil  War,  and  particularly 
on  the  educational  side.  Never  before,  per- 
haps, in  her  long  and  eventful  history,  did  the 
Church  exhibit  a  growth  at  once  so  great,  so 
orderly,  and  so  solid.  The  phenomenon  is  doubt- 
less to  be  ascribed,  in  the  last  analysis,  to  the  vital- 
ity inherent  in  the  Church  herself;  but  much  must 
be  attributed  to  the  favorable  economic,  social, 
and  political  conditions  under  which  Catholic 
immigrants  found  themselves  in  America,  and 
much  must  also  be  attributed  to  the  character  of 
the  immigrants  themselves.  They  were  far  too 
numerous  to  be  simply  absorbed.  The  organic 
frame-work  of  the  Church  had  to  extend  itself, 
to  reproduce  and  multiply  itself  over  and  over  in 


The  Church  13 

order  to  make  room  for  them.  During  the  twenty 
years  from  1840  to  1860,  almost  twice  as  many 
dioceses  were  organized  as  had  existed  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  period.  Nearly  all  of  these  new 
dioceses  were  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 

The  bishops  or  vicars  appointed  to  the  new 
sees  were,  without  exception,  men  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  Catholic  education.  Trained  themselves, 
generally  speaking,  under  Catholic  auspices,  they 
were  not  less  profoundly  imbued  with  the  idea  of 
the  necessity  of  the  Catholic  school  than  had  been 
the  great  prelates  of  the  preceding  generation. 
And  they  gave  abundant  evidence  of  the  educa- 
tional faith  that  was  in  them.  The  maxim  of 
Bishop  Hughes,  "The  school  before  the  church," 
was  given  many  a  practical  exemplification  in  the 
pioneer  towns  and  settlements  that  dotted  the 
great  prairies  and  wildernesses  of  the  West.  Most 
often,  however,  the  accepted  educational  policy 
ran,  "The  school  alongside  the  church."  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  both  church  and  school  were  fre- 
quently begun  about  the  same  time,  and,  if  there 
was  but  one  building,  it  was  usually  made  to  serve 
the  double  purpose  of  church  and  school. 

There  was  no  question  raised  as  to  the  advis- 
ability of  erecting  distinctively  Catholic  schools. 
Here  and  there,  where  circumstances  were  spe- 
cially favorable,  support  was  gotten  for  the  local 
Catholic  school  out  of  the  common  school  funds; 
but  this  was  exceptional.  Catholics  were  called 
upon  by  their  bishops  and  priests  to  pay  a  tax  for 
their  own  schools,  besides  paying  for  the  public 
schools.  There  was  a  hope  that  some  day  the 
American  people  would  be  led  to  see  the  injustice 


14        Catholic  Schools  in  the  Immigration  Period 

of  this;  but  the  feeling  was  strong  among  Catho- 
lics that  they  must  have  their  own  schools,  even 
if  they  had  to  pay  double  for  them.  The  pioneer 
bishops  and  priests  of  the  West  during  this  period, 
like  those  of  the  East  before  them,  were  practical 
men — men  who  were  used  to  wrestling  with  rough 
conditions  and  had  learned  by  hard  practice  how 
to  produce  practical  results.  It  was  their  own 
experience  that  led  them  to  the  conviction  of  the 
absolute  necessity  of  the  Catholic  school.  The 
stupendous  task  they  were  undertaking  in  attempt- 
ing to  provide  for  a  complete  school  system  for 
the  entire  Catholic  population,  from  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  Catholics  themselves,  did  not 
frighten  them,  although  its  immensity  and  dif- 
ficulty were  keenly  apprehended;  no  more  than 
did  the  equally  stupendous  task  of  building  up 
the  mighty  material  organization  of  the  Church. 
In  both  cases,  they  were  prompted  by  faith;  in 
both,  they  brought  to  the  task  the  absolute  con- 
fidence that  springs  from  faith. 


THE    IMMIGRANTS 

Besides  the  favorable  conditions  existing  here, 
and  the  Church,  with  her  wonderful  organism  and 
inherent  vitality,  another  primal  factor  in  the 
Catholic  educational  development  during  the 
Immigration  Period  remains  to  be  mentioned — 

o 

the  immigrants  themselves.  Something  has 
already  been  said  of  their  number  and  nationality. 
The  pioneer  bishops  and  priests  in  the  new  dio- 
ceses were,  as  a  rule,  of  this  class.  Catholic  immi- 


The  Immigrants  15 

grants  were,  almost  without  exception,  poor. 
Driven  from  Ireland  and  Germany  by  famine  or 
oppression,  they  were  glad,  on  their  arrival  here, 
to  get  any  kind  of  work,  and  the  work  they  took 
up  was  usually  of  the  hardest  and  least  lucrative 
kind — out  on  the  railroad  tracks  or  in  the  grimy 
railroad  shops,  in  the  streets  of  the  city  or  in  the 
fields.  They  were  the  poorest  of  the  poor  of  their 
day  and  generation.  As  we  look  back  at  it  from 
the  distance  of  half  a  century,  the  marvel  is  how 
men  who  received  but  the  slender  dollar-a-day  of 
the  average  immigrant,  with  growing  family  to 
support,  and  newly  purchased  home  to  pay  for, 
could,  nevertheless,  contribute  not  only  to  the 
building  of  churches  and  the  support  of  pastors, 
but  to  the  building  of  schoolhouses  and  the  sup- 
port of  Catholic  teachers  as  well.  In  thriving 
towns  throughout  the  Middle  West,  traditions 
still  linger  which  bear  witness  to  the  heroic  quality 
of  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  Catholic  pioneers  in 
behalf  of  religion  and  education.  An  instance 
which  may  be  cited — for  it  appears  to  have  been 
not  infrequent — was  that  of  men  who  had  no 
money  to  give  coming  night  after  night,  after 
their  hard  day's  work  of  twelve  hours,  and  labor- 
ing as  long  as  there  was  light,  at  the  work  of  lay- 
ing the  foundations  or  raising  the  walls  of  the  new 
church  and  school  building.  It  was  out  of  such 
self-sacrifice,  in  fact,  that  the  solid  structure  of 
Catholic  education  was  everywhere  reared.  The 
story  of  the  first  Catholic  schools  in  Milwaukee  and 
Chicago  recalls  the  early  school  history  of  New 
York,  Baltimore  and  Boston,  just  as  the  first  foun- 
dations of  the  great  teaching  orders  in  the  West 


1 6        Catholic  Schools  in  the  Immigration  Period 

West  recall  the  heroic  story  of  the  Georgetown 
Convent  and  of  the  Sisters  of  Emmittsburg. 

Catholic  immigrants  did  not  need  to  be  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  of  Catholic  schools.  They 
were  of  one  mind  with  their  pastors  and  bishops 
on  the  subject.  Centuries  of  struggle  to  preserve 
their  faith  and  their  national  traditions  had  taught 
the  Irish  and  the  Germans  the  value  of  the  relig- 
ious school,  and  the  immigrants  to  America  simply 
brought  with  them  the  educational  ideas  which 
had  become  a  part  of  their  inheritance  and 
their  faith.  This  is  why  there  was  no  question 
with  the  laity  any  more  than  with  the  clergy  as 
to  the  wisdom  of  attempting  to  establish  a  sep- 
arate system  of  Catholic  schools.  Like  their 
pastors,  the  laity  accepted  this  alternative  as  a 
matter  of  course,  although  the  additional  finan- 
cial burden  it  brought  to  every  home  was  keenly 
felt.  There  were  many  instances  where  a  group 
of  Catholic  families,  who  were  either  not  nu- 
merous enough  or  able  to  secure  a  priest,  hired 
a  Catholic  teacher  themselves  and  started  a 
Catholic  school,  although  public  schools  were 
within  easy  reach.  The  Catholic  school  was 
thus  simply  the  concrete,  practical  expression  of 
an  educational  ideal  that  was  common  to  all 
Catholics,  and  that  was  enrooted  in  the  minds  of 
the  laity  no  less  than  the  clergy.  Leaders  of 
course  there  had  to  be,  and  it  was  natural  that 
bishops  and  priests  should  have  taken  the  lead 
in  the  work  of  Catholic  education.  But  it  was 
never  argument  that  was  needed,  so  much  as  prac- 
tical direction,  and  often,  as  has  been  said,  the 
leadership  of  the  clergy  was  not  waited  for  in  the 


The  Immigrants  17 

matter  of  establishing  schools.  Circumstances 
sometimes  precluded  the  founding  of  Catholic 
schools.  People  were,  in  places,  too  poor;  or, 
not  numerous  enough;  or,  a  teacher  could  not  be 
had.  In  such  cases  it  often  happened  that  years 
passed  before  a  Catholic  parish  had  a  school  of 
its  own.  The  ideal,  however,  and  the  fixed  pur- 
pose was  everywhere  the  same;  and  this  was,  a 
Catholic  school  and  a  Catholic  training,  from 
start  to  finish,  for  every  Catholic  child. 

If  we  consider  the  widely  diversified  elements 
that  went  to  form  the  Catholic  population  in  the 
new  dioceses,  this  unanimity  of  thought  and  pur- 
pose must  be  matter  for  wonder.  It  was  shared 
by  Frenchman  and  Catholic  native  American,  by 
German  and  by  Irishman.  It  is  still  more  won- 
derful, perhaps,  that  this  unanimity  was  pre- 
served, notwithstanding  the  widely  differing  cir- 
cumstances into  which  the  component  elements  of 
the  Catholic  population  were  thrown.  Every- 
where, and  everywhere  almost  at  the  same  time, 
Catholic  schools  were  springing  up,  in  the  great 
cities  of  the  East,  as  well  as  in  pioneer  settle- 
ments in  the  West;  in  Protestant  strongholds  like 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  as  well  as  in 
ancient  Catholic  centers  like  Detroit;  in  Catholic 
settlements  scattered  through  the  Alleghany 
Mountain  region,  and  in  the  rising  towns  that 
dotted  the  great  plains  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

There  was  no  noise  or  agitation,  such  as  accom- 
panied the  great  educational  movement  making 
for  the  betterment  of  the  public  school  system 
during  the  same  period.  The  Catholic  educa- 
tional movement  was  not  intellectual, but  religious. 


i84       Catholic  Schools  in  the  Immigration  Period 

It  sprang  from  the  heart  rather  than  the  head,  and 
was  the  result  of  a  common  impulse  flowing  from 
a  common  religious  ideal.  The  fanatical  anti- 
Catholic  agitation  and  outbreaks  that  marked  the 
growth  of  the  Native  American  and  Know-Noth 
ing  parties  had  little  permanent  influence  upon  the 
Catholic  school  movement.  Here  and  there  a 
school  was  burned  or  temporarily  closed,  and  in 
Massachusetts  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  deemed  it  pru- 
dent for  the  time  being  to  stop  the  building  of 
schools.  But,  generally  speaking,  Catholics  kept 
bravely  on  with  the  work.  If  anything,  the  fanat- 
ical spirit  of  the  times  rather  helped  on  the  Catho- 
lic school  movement,  by  making  Catholics  more 
sensible  of  the  danger  to  the  faith  of  their  chil 
dren  which  lurked  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  public 
school. 

EDUCATIONAL   CONDITIONS 

"The  Great  Awakening,"  as  the  educational 
movement  started  by  Horace  Mann  about  1835 
was  called,  had  little  influence  upon  Catholics, 
although  it  spread  from  one  end  of  the  country 
to  the  other.  The  problems  of  Catholic  educa- 
tion at  the  time  were  different.  The  existing  relig- 
ious communities,  under  the  stimulus  of  European 
influence,  had  already  accomplished  for  their 
teachers  and  schools  much  of  what  "The  Great 
Awakening"  came  to  do  for  the  public  schools 
and  their  teachers;3  and  the  newly  arrived  or 
newly  forming  communities  were  still  struggling 
for  existence.  Even  the  existing  communities  were 
8  Cf.  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,  Chapter  viii. 


Educational  Conditions  19 

straining  every  nerve  to  meet  the  demand  made 
upon  them  by  the  sudden  and  extraordinary 
growth  of  the  school  system.  The  two  move- 
ments, therefore,  although  contemporaneous,  had 
little,  if  anything,  in  common.  The  purpose  of 
the  one  was  to  raise  the  standard  of  the  public 
schools,  especially  by  improving  the  quality  of  the 
teaching;  the  purpose  of  the  other  was  to  provide 
schools  and  teachers  for  a  population  that  was 
growing  so  fast  as  almost  to  double  itself  within 
a  few  years.  Both  movements  were  chiefly  con- 
cerned, it  is  true,  with  the  teacher;  but,  in  the 
one  case,  it  was  the  better  training  of  the  teacher 
that  was  sought  for,  while,  in  the  other,  it  was 
simply  the  getting  of  a  sufficient  number  of  teach- 
ers with  the  necessary  religious  and  other  qualifica- 
tions. 

There  were  at  least  two  hundred  Catholic  par- 
ish schools  in  the  country  in  the  year  1840.  More 
than  half  of  these  were  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
It  was  due  to  the  educational  zeal  or  genius  of 
Bishops  Flaget  and  Dubourg  that,  at  the  above 
date,  the  dioceses  of  Kentucky  and  St.  Louis  were 
better  off  for  schools  and  teachers  than  the  more 
populous  dioceses  of  the  East.4  Bishop  Kenrick, 
of  Philadelphia,  in  1843,  complained  of  the  im- 
possibility of  finding  teachers  enough  for  the 
schools.  Bishop  Hughes,  of  New  York,  after  the 
school  controversy,  made  several  trips  to  Europe 
partly  for  the  purpose  of  securing  teachers  for 
his  schools.  Both  of  these  dioceses  had  the  Sisters 
of  Charity  of  Emmittsburg,  but,  rapid  as  was  the 
growth  of  that  community  and  its  branches,  the 

*  Cf.  op.  cit,  c.  viii. 


2o       Catholic  Schools  in  the  Immigration  Period 

supply  of  teachers  was  entirely  inadequate  to  the 
demand.  It  was  to  Europe  that  Hughes  and 
Kenrick  and  their  contemporaries  turned,  as 
Flaget  and  Dubourg  had  done,  in  order  to  get 
teachers  enough  for  their  schools. 

Teaching  communities  were  plentiful  in  France 
and  Germany,  and  many  of  these  were  induced  to 
send  colonies  to  the  United  States  during  the 
period,  1840-61.  So  numerous  were  these  colo- 
nies, in  fact,  and  so  rapid  was  their  growth,  once 
they  were  fairly  settled,  that  their  members  soon 
outnumbered  the  members  of  the  religious 
orders  existing  here  before  them,  just  as  the  immi- 
grants did  the  native  Catholic  population. 

The  religious  orders  were  really  the  nuclei  of 
Catholic  educational  growth  during  this  period. 
Their  growth  was  both  coincident  with  and  causa- 
tive of  the  advance  of  the  school  movement.  They 
represented  also,  generally  speaking,  whatever 
there  was  of  organization  of  Catholic  educational 
forces.  Of  diocesan  school  organization  there 
was  little  more  than  the  name.  There  had  to  be 
schools,  before  schools  could  be  united  and  gov- 
erned as  a  system,  and  the  attention  of  both 
bishops,  priests,  and  religious  superiors  was 
absorbed  by  problems  connected  with  the  indis- 
pensable prerequisites  for  the  school  as  an  indi- 
vidual thing. 

It  is  best,  therefore,  in  dealing  with  this  period, 
to  take  the  religious  teaching  community,  rather 
than  the  diocese,  as  the  unit  of  organization,  since 
it  was  practically,  although  not  formally,  such. 
This  arrangement  is  the  more  convenient,  since 
the  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  show  the  causative 


Educational  Conditions  21 

influences  that  have  been  at  work  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Catholic  school  system.  In  the  post- 
Revolutionary  period  it  was  the  diocese  that  gave 
definite  and  final  shape  to  the  school  system  and 
determined  the  character  of  the  teacher.  That 
period  was  the  turning-point  in  the  history  of 
Catholic  education  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
diocesan  influence  was  then  supreme.  But  the 
diocese,  while  remaining  supreme  in  authority, 
ceased  to  be  such  as  a  causative  or  determinative 
educational  influence  during  the  Immigration 
Period.  The  supreme  factor,  so  far  as  growth 
is  concerned,  was  the  religious  teaching  commu- 
nity. Taking  it,  then,  as  the  organization- 
center,  the  effort  will  be  made  to  show,  in  the 
three  following  chapters,  the  influence  which  the 
various  teaching  communities  of  the  time  had 
upon  Catholic  school  development.  The  diocesan 
organization,  however,  will  not  be  lost  sight  of. 
Particular  dioceses  will  be  frequently  referred  to 
in  the  study  of  the  teaching  communities.  The 
rise  of  the  diocesan  school  systems  in  the  Far 
West  remains  still  to  be  outlined.  Furthermore, 
the  study  of  the  development  and  perfecting  of 
the  diocesan  system  will  be  taken  up  in  the  chap- 
ters on  School  Legislation  and  Organization. 


CHAPTER  II 

TEACHERS    AND  TEACHING    COMMUNITIES    IN 
THE  IMMIGRATION   PERIOD 

A    GENERAL    VIEW 

AT  THE  beginning  of  the  period  of  the  Great 
Immigration  there  were  thirteen  religious  com- 
munities in  the  United  States  engaged  in  parish 
school  work.  All  of  these  were  communities  of 
women.  In  the  Archdiocese  of  Baltimore  there 
were  the  Visitation  Nuns,  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
and  the  Oblate  Sisters  of  Baltimore;  in  the 
Diocese  of  Philadelphia,  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin;  in  South  Carolina,  the  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy  and  the  Ursulines;  in  New  Orleans, 
the  Ursulines;  in  the  Diocese  of  St.  Louis,  the 
Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  the  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph;  in  Kentucky,  the  Sisters  of  Loretto, 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth,  and  the 
Dominican  Sisters;  and  in  Detroit,  the  Poor 
Clares.1 

During  the  period  we  are  now  to  consider, 
twenty-five  new  communities  entered  the  field. 
Several  of  these  were  founded  in  this  country, 
but  the  greater  number  came  from  Europe.  Be- 

1  Cf.  The  Catholic  School  System  in  the  U.  S. 


A  General  View  23 

sides  these,  a  number  of  independent  orders  grew 
up  from  branch  establishments  previously  existing 
here,  or  from  branch  establishments  which  were 
formed  during  this  period.  All  but  six  of  the 
new  communities  were  sisterhoods.  Efforts  were 
made  by  several  bishops  to  procure  more  Brothers 
for  boys'  schools,  but  it  was  very  difficult  to  induce 
the  existing  brotherhoods  in  Europe  to  found 
branch  establishments  at  a  distance,  so  great  was 
the  demand  for  the  Brothers  at  home.  Moreover, 
it  was  found  hard  to  get  vocations  for  the  brother- 
hoods here,  much  harder,  in  fact,  than  it  was 
abroad.  There  was  a  financial  advantage,  also, 
iji  favor  of  the  Sisters,  in  that  they  could  live  more 
cheaply,  and  consequently  were  content  with  a 
lower  salary.  These  last  two  factors  have  con- 
tinued to  operate  in  favor  of  the  employment  of 
Sisters  rather  than  Brothers  as  teachers  in  parish 
schools,  and  their  influence  will  be  considered 
more  fully  later  on.2 

Although  most  of  the  new  teaching  orders  came 
from  abroad,  and  their  first  members — usually 
either  French  or  German — were  unable  to  speak 
English  upon  their  arrival,  their  Americanization 
was  both  rapid  and  complete.  The  first  members 
were  obliged  to  learn  English  at  once,  in  order  to 
take  up  the  work  of  teaching;  the  recruits  that 
were  gathered  to  the  little  immigrant  colonies 
were,  of  course,  Americans,  although  often  of 
foreign  birth;  and  it  thus  came  about  that  the 
general  personnel  of  the  community  became,  in  a 
generation  or  so,  thoroughly  American.  In  quite 
a  number  of  instances,  too,  the  American  branch, 
2  See  especially  chapter  on  Economic  Side. 


24     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

owing  to  one  cause  or  another,  broke  away  from 
the  parent  stem  and  became  an  independent  relig- 
ious organization,  obtaining  the  formal  approval 
of  the  Holy  See. 

In  respect  of  organization  religious  communi- 
ties may  be  divided  into  two  classes:  those  whose 
several  houses  are  dependent  in  government  upon 
a  common  central  establishment,  besides  being 
bound  by  a  common  rule;  and  those  whose  sev- 
eral houses  are  independent  in  government,  while 
all  living  under  a  common  rule.  Both  types  were 
represented  among  the  religious  orders  which 
came  to  the  country  during  the  Immigration 
Period,  as  they  were  also  among  those  which 
existed  here  before.  Again,  in  the  case  of  com- 
munities that  have  a  common  central  government, 
while  the  form  of  government  is,  in  general,  much 
like  that  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,3  there  is  con- 
siderable diversity  in  respect  to  the  relationship 
of  the  branch  houses  to  the  central  establishment. 
With  some,  this  relationship  is  very  close;  in 
others,  it  is  much  less  so.  It  is  necessary  to  bear 
this  in  mind,  in  order  to  understand  the  phe- 
nomena met  with  in  studying  the  growth  of  the 
teaching  orders  during  this  period.  This  fact, 
taken  in  connection  with  external  influences,  helps 
to  explain  the  splitting  up  of  some  communities, 
as  well  as  the  development  of  others  on  a  national 
scope,  with  an  organization  comprising  hundreds 
and  even  thousands  of  subjects,  united  under  a 
common  government,  and  with  schools  in  every 
section  of  the  country  and  in  almost  every  State. 

•Cf.  The   Cath.   School   System  in  the  U.   S.,  "Sisters   of 
Charity  of  Emmittsburg." 


A  General  View  25 

The  chief  factor,  however,  in  the  making  of 
the  community  was,  generally  speaking,  its  leader- 
ship. The  community  which  grew  great  and  pow- 
erful was  made  so  by  some  extraordinarily  gifted 
man  or  woman  who  had  the  shaping  of  its  early 
destiny.  Leadership  counted  for  more  than  exter- 
nal circumstances.  Where  feeble  organizations 
grew  feebler  or  disintegrated  altogether  in  the 
face  of  difficulties,  other  communities  better 
officered  grew  strong,  and  were  able  to  harness 
even  adverse  circumstances  to  their  service.  This 
is  especially  true  of  the  development  of  the  com- 
munity on  the  purely  educational  side.  The  spirit 
of  a  single  great  teacher  often  passed  to  the  entire 
community  as  an  inheritance  for  all  time.  Special 
attention  will,  therefore,  be  given  to  the  great 
educational  leaders  in  the  religious  communities. 

As  the  aim  of  the  author  is  an  historical  study 
of  the  Catholic  school  system,  it  would  be  obvi- 
ously impossible,  within  the  limits  of  this  work, 
to  give  a  complete  historical  sketch,  or  anything 
approaching  to  it,  of  each  religious  order.  The 
aim  will  consequently  be,  simply  to  show  the  influ- 
ence of  the  various  orders  which  engaged  in  school 
work  during  this  period  upon  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  Catholic  system  of  schools; 
and  the  history  of  each  will  be  dealt  with  only 
to  the  extent  deemed  requisite  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  purpose.  The  space  devoted  to 
each  community  will  necessarily  vary  accordingly. 
The  facts  and  features  of  each  order's  growth 
will  likewise  be  selected  with  this  end  in  view. 
The  order  of  historical  sequence  will  be  followed 
so  far  as  convenient,  first  in  the  case  of  the  teach- 


26     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

ing  communities  of  women,  and  afterwards  with 
respect  to  the  teaching  brotherhoods. 

SISTERS   OF   CHARITY   OF  THE   BLESSED  VIRGIN — 
MOTHER  FRANCES  CLARKE  (1833) 

This  community,  which  owed  its  origin  as  a  re- 
ligious body  to  the  zeal  of  Rev.  T.  J.  Donaghoe, 
pastor  of  St.  Michael's,  Philadelphia,4sent  a  party 
of  five  Sisters  to  Dubuque  in  1843,  m  response 
to  the  urgent  appeal  of  Bishop  Loras,  who  was 
eager  to  secure  religious  teachers  for  his  growing 
schools.  The  greatness  of  the  opportunity  offered 
in  the  West,  and  the  obstacles  to  their  work  in 
Philadelphia,  owing  to  the  Know-Nothing  move- 
ment, combined  to  induce  the  founder  and 
the  Sisters  who  had  remained  behind  to  move 
the  entire  community  to  Dubuque  the  same  year. 
The  place  then  contained  about  seven  hundred 
inhabitants.  A  tract  of  land  ten  miles  southwest 
of  the  city,  named  St.  Joseph's  Prairie,  was  chosen 
as  the  site  for  the  mother-house;  but  the  build- 
ings were  destroyed  by  fire  soon  after  the  Sisters 
had  settled  there.  Father  Donaghoe,  who  had 
come  with  the  community  to  Dubuque,  set  himself 
courageously  to  repair  the  damage,  and  soon  new 
buildings  arose.  The  number  of  novices,  as  well 
as  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  academy  which  had 
been  founded,  increased  until,  fifteen  years  later, 
a  large  new  building  was  erected  on  a  bluff  over- 

O  t-* 

looking  the  Mississippi  and  just  within  the  city 
limits.  To  this  site,  known  as  Mt.  Carmel,  the 
mother-house  was  transferred.5 

4  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  263. 

6  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  311. 


Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  2  7 

Bishop  Loras  builded  even  better  than  he  knew 
in  bringing  the  community  to  his  diocese.  They 
not  only  aided  him  in  the  extension  of  education 
in  the  diocese,  but  furnished  teachers  to  neighbor- 
ing dioceses  as  well.  Throughout  the  West,  to 
which  its  work  has  been  confined,  the  community 
has  had  a  potent  influence  upon  Catholic  educa- 
tional work,  especially  in  the  development  of 
parish  schools.  This  was  the  primary  purpose  of 
the  congregation,  and  it  was  firmly  held  to  this 
purpose  during  the  long  administration  of  the 
first  superior,  Mother  Frances  Clarke,  who  lived 
till  the  year  1887.  Academies  and  high  schools 
were  taken  charge  of  in  time,  but  the  main  work 
has  always  been  considered  to  be  the  parish 
schools. 

Mother  Frances,  although  a  woman  of  great 
ability,  was  personally  strongly  inclined  towards 
elementary  school  work.  She  was  remarkable 
for  a  humility  that  caused  her  to  seek  to  lead  a 
hidden  life,  even  when  directing  the  affairs  of  the 
entire  community.  Gentle  and  at  the  same  time 
firm,  she  labored  in  the  retirement  of  the  mother- 
convent  to  mold  the  community  according  to  her 
ideal,  seeking  to  make  religious  who  would  be, 
above  all,  humble  and  self-sacrificing,  and  teachers 
who  would  strive  to  excel  all  others  in  the  doing 
of  their  work,  even  though  that  work  was  in  the 
elementary  school.  Like  many  of  the  great  foun- 
ders or  superiors  of  the  sisterhoods  during  this 
period,  Mother  Frances  succeeded  in  impressing 
her  spirit  and  her  ideals  permanently  upon  the 
community.  The  rules  of  the  new  society,  so  far 
as  concerns  methods  of  teaching,  were  framed 


28     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

from  ideas  acquired  in  the  actual  practice  of  the 
class-room.  Sister  Margaret  Mann,  one  of  the 
original  members,  was  the  right  hand  of  Mother 
Frances  in  the  administration,  and  was  distin- 
guished by  her  activity  in  promoting  the  educa- 
tional interests  of  the  community.  In  the  work 
at  Dubuque  Sisters  Mary  Joseph  O'Reilly,  Cath- 
erine Byrne,  and  Rosalia  Ryan  were  also  distin- 
guished among  the  pioneers.6 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Dubuque  the  Sisters  had 
taken  charge  of  St.  Mary's  School  (now  St.  Raph- 
ael's), and  later  on  another  academy  was  opened 
within  the  city  limits.  For  a  period  of  twenty- 
four  years  no  permanent  foundation  was  made 
outside  of  Iowa.  But  during  that  time,  an 
academy  and  two  schools  were  opened  at  Daven- 
port as  well  as  parish  schools  in  other  important 
towns  of  the  State.7 

Under  Sisters  Agatha  Hurley  and  Agnes  Burke 
the  work  of  the  community  was  extended  to  Illi- 
nois. The  Sisters  took  charge  of  St.  Aloysius 
(now  Holy  Family)  School,  Chicago,  in  1867, 
and,  the  next  year,  of  the  Sacred  Heart  School. 
From  now  on,  for  a  period  of  eighteen  years,  the 
rapid  development  of  the  parish  school  system  in 
Illinois  and  Iowa  absorbed  the  energies  of  the 
community.  Many  schools  were  opened  by  the 
Sisters  in  the  growing  Catholic  centers  of  these 
two  States.  The  concentration  of  the  work  of 
the  community  upon  elementary  education  made 
very  greatly  for  the  efficiency  of  the  Sisters  as 
teachers.  In  Chicago  the  demand  for  their  ser- 

6  Records  of  the  mother-house. 
7Ib. 


Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  29 

vices  has  been  particularly  urgent,  and  the  number 
of  their  establishments  there  has  steadily 
increased,  until  at  present  they  have  charge  of  one 
high  school  and  eighteen  parish  schools,  some  of 
the  latter  being  among  the  largest  and  most  im- 
portant in  the  city.8 

In  assuming  charge  of  the  Holy  Rosary  School 
in  Milwaukee,  in  1885,  the  community  entered 
upon  an  era  of  wider  expansion.  The  western 
limit  of  this  movement  was  marked  by  the  open- 
ing of  a  school  in  San  Francisco  the  next  year,  and 
since  then  many  schools  and  several  academies 
have  been  opened  in  the  far  western  States.  New 
schools  have  also  been  taken  by  the  community 
during  this  period  in  Milwaukee,  as  well  as  in 
various  places  in  Illinois  and  Iowa.9 

In  1908  the  community  contained  over  1,000 
members,  having  under  its  direction  25,000 
pupils.10 


SISTERS  OF  ST.   JOSEPH MOTHER  ST.   JOHN 

FOURNIER    (1836) 

The  coming  of  the  first  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  to 
America  and  their  establishment  at  Carondelet, 
near  St.  Louis,  in  1836,  has  already  been  de- 
scribed.11 After  taking  charge  of  school-work  in 
St.  Louis,  in  1844,  the  community  increased  rap- 
idly, and  was  soon  strong  enough  to  send  bands 
of  Sisters  to  distant  places.  In  1847,  a  perma- 

*  Records  of  the  mother-house. 

9  Ib. 

10  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.,  I,  p.  312. 
nCf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  310. 


30     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

nent  foundation  was  made  in  Philadelphia.  While 
continually  extending  their  work  in  St.  Louis  and 
vicinity,  the  Sisters  also  opened  schools  among 
the  Sioux  and  Winnebago  Indians  in  1850,  and 
the  year  following  founded  the  first  house  of  the 
order  in  St.  Paul.  At  Wheeling,  Buffalo,  Roches- 
ter, Brooklyn,  and  several  places  in  Canada  foun- 
dations were  made  within  the  next  few  years.  A 
house  was  established  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  in  1861, 
and  at  Tucson,  Ariz.,  in  1869.  Thus,  within 
twenty  years  after  being  solidly  established  at  St. 
Louis,  the  community  had  a  dozen  widely  spread 
branch-houses,  reaching  from  the  Atlantic  almost 
to  the  Pacific,  each  surrounded  by  a  growing 
Catholic  population.  The  result  was  shown  in 
the  rapid  growth  of  these  branch-houses,  and 
their  important  educational  influence.  Each  was 
independent  of  the  original  mother-house,  and 
from  several  of  these  primitive  branches,  in  turn, 
new  independent  communities  were  soon  formed.12 
A  plan  to  unite  all  the  branches  of  this  great 
community  under  a  central  government,  with  a 
superior-general  at  its  head,  inasmuch  as  all  wore 
the  same  garb  and  followed  substantially  the  same 
rule,  originated  with  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of  St. 
Louis.  In  the  year  1860  representatives  from  the 
various  houses  met  at  Carondelet,  and  formulated 
a  plan  of  government  which  was  approved  by  the 
majority  of  those  present,  and  later  received  the 
formal  approbation  of  the  Holy  See.  Many  of 
the  branch-houses  were  thus  re-united  to  the  orig- 
inal mother-house,  the  Congregation  so  formed 
being  known  as  "The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  of 
KRivaux,  Life  of  Mother  St.  John  Fontbonne,  p.  208  seq. 


Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  31 

Carondelet."  The  houses  in  the  East,  as  a  rule, 
acting  under  the  advice  of  their  respective  bishops, 
remained  outside  of  the  union.  The  congregation 
includes  four  provinces:  St.  Louis,  comprising  the 
schools  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  in  Missouri  and 
the  neighboring  States;  St.  Paul,  including  prin- 
cipally the  establishments  in  Minnesota;13  Troy, 
including  those  in  Central  New  York;  and  Los 
Angeles,  those  in  California  and  Arizona.  The 
members  of  the  congregation,  in  the  year  1910, 
numbered  1751;  there  were  126  schools,  with 
upwards  of  41,000  pupils.14 

The  oldest  of  the  branch-houses,  at  Philadel- 
phia, grew  rapidly  under  the  fostering  care  of 
Bishop  Kenrick  and  his  successors.  Beginning 
parish  school  work  at  Pottsville,  the  Sisters  took 
charge  of  St.  John's  Orphan  Asylum  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1847,  and  some  years  later  of  the  schools 
at  old  St.  Joseph's  Church  and  St.  Philip's.  From 
now  on,  the  community  was  able  to  furnish  teach- 
ers for  many  of  the  parish  schools  which  Bishop 
Neumann's  burning  zeal  was  raising  up  on  every 
side,  and  its  membership  was  increased  corre- 
spondingly. As  the  Orphan  Asylum  was  unsuitable 
for  a  novitiate,  this  was  transferred  to  McSher- 
rystown,  in  1854,  but  four  years  later  a  beautiful 
estate  at  Chestnut  Hill  was  acquired,  and  the 
novitiate  and  mother-house  permanently  estab- 
lished there.  An  academy  was  opened  at  the  same 
time.  This  institution,  from  the  tiniest  begin- 
nings, has  developed  into  a  large  modern  academic 

13  An  independent  branch  of  the  St.  Paul  Community  was 
established  at  Cleveland,  in  1872.  The  Sisters  conduct  diocesan 
schools,  and  also  an  academy. 

14Cath.  Dir.,  1910;  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  382 


32     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

and  collegiate  plant,  and  is  known  as  Mt.  St. 
Joseph's  Collegiate  Institute.  The  community 
has  won  an  enviable  place  among  Catholic  teach- 
ing bodies,  and  for  this  credit  is  due  in  part  to 
Bishops  Kenrick,  Neumann,  and  their  successors, 
but  chiefly  to  the  foundress,  Mother  St.  John 
Fournier,  and  those  who  came  after  her  in  the 
administration.  Mother  St.  John  belonged  to  one 
of  the  pioneer  bands  of  the  Sisters,  reaching  St. 
Louis  in  1837.  She  was  a  woman  of  courage,  and 
her  activity  was  not  only  incessant,  but  prudent 
and  far-seeing.  It  was  she  who  began  the  school 
work  in  St.  Louis.  She  founded  the  community 
in  Philadelphia,  and  governed  it  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  except  for  an  interval  of  three  years  during 
which  she  was  recalled  to  the  West,  to  found  the 
first  schools  in  St.  Paul.  Mother  John  Kieran, 
who  succeeded  her  in  1875,  enlarged  the  work  of 
the  foundress  to  meet  the  changing  conditions — 
re-organizing  the  novitiate,  amplifying  its  educa- 
tional facilities,  and  modernizing  its  pedagogical 
training.  The  policy  of  her  predecessors  was  con- 
tinued, in  spirit  and  purpose,  by  Mother  Clement 
Lannen,  who  became  the  superior-general  in  1887. 
The  number  of  Sisters,  in  1910,  was  716,  with  40 
schools,  and  24,642  pupils.15 

Besides  continually  enlarging  their  work  in 
eastern  Pennsylvania,  the  Sisters  took  charge  of 
schools  in  New  Jersey  and  Maryland,  which  have 
remained  subject  to  the  mother-house  in  Philadel- 
phia. Several  independent  offshoots  were  also 

15  Records  of  the  Phila.  mother-house;  Rivaux,  Life  of 
Mother  St.  John  F.,  p.  223  seq. ;  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.  of  A.,  p. 
383;  Hist.  Sketches  of  the  Cath.  Chvirches  in  Phila.,  p.  192; 
Cath.  Dir. 


Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  33 

formed.  One  of  these  was  at  McSherrystown, 
Pa.,  where  the  academy  was  continued  and  where, 
upon  the  creation  of  the  Diocese  of  Harrisburg, 
in  1868,  an  independent  mother-house  was  estab- 
lished.16 Another  was  at  Toronto,  in  1851,  from 
which  other  independent  colonies  in  Canada  were 
formed.17 

The  most  important  branch  of  the  Philadel- 
phia community,  however,  was  the  establishment 
at  Brooklyn,  founded  in  1856.  Two  Sisters,  with 
Mother  Mary  Austin,  began  the  work  by  opening 
St.  Mary's  Academy  and  a  parochial  school,  a 
novitiate  being  also  established.  The  community's 
development  was  rapid,  owing,  in  great  part,  to 
the  personal  exertions  of  Bishop  Loughlin  in  their 
behalf.  Soon  the  novitiate  and  academy  were 
removed  to  a  more  suitable  site  at  Flushing.  Sub- 
sequently, they  were  removed  to  Brentwood,  L.  I., 
where  an  extensive  establishment  has  been  built 
up.  The  community  has  been  quick  to  respond  to 
appeals  for  teachers,  sending  out  a  number  of 
colonies,  which  became  new  centers  of  the  work 
of  the  order,  independent  of  their  mother-house. 
One  of  these  was  established  at  Erie,  Pa.,  in  1862, 
from  which  a  colony  was  sent  to  Kansas  in  1887. 
Another  was  first  established  at  Ebensburg,  Pa., 
in  1864,  the  mother-house  being  afterwards 
moved  to  Baden,  in  Beaver  County,  where  Mt. 
Gallitzin  Academy  was  opened.  Another  was 
sent  to  Boston,  in  1873,  where  the  growth  of  the 
community  has  been  large,  while  other  diocesan 
communities  were  founded  at  Rutland,  Vt.,  in 

"Life  of  Mother  St.  John  R,  p.  237. 
"  Ib.,  pp.  228,  256. 


34     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

1876,  and  at  Springfield,  Mass,  in  1880.  The 
number  of  Sisters  in  the  Brooklyn  community,  in 
1910,  was  584,  with  11,000  pupils  under  their 
care.18 

The  Philadelphia  branch  has  thus  been  almost 
as  prolific  as  the  original  colony  at  St.  Louis.  But 
besides  the  houses  in  Philadelphia  and  St.  Paul, 
several  other  important  branches  were  formed 
from  Carondelet.  A  colony  was  sent  to  Wheel- 
ing in  1853,  at  the  request  of  Bishop  Whelan, 
where  they  founded  an  academy  and  novitiate, 
which  became  the  center  of  a  series  of  schools.19 

Another  colony  from  Carondelet  founded  a 
novitiate  and  academy  at  Canandaigua,  in  1854, 
at  the  instance  of  Bishop  Timon,  the  mother- 
house  and  novitiate  being  transferred  to  Buffalo 
several  years  later,  where  the  community  opened 
an  academy  and  assumed  charge  of  the  diocesan 
schools.  From  Buffalo,  several  Sisters  were  sent 
to  Rochester,  in  1864,  and,  after  the  erection  of 
this  place  into  an  episcopal  see,  the  Sisters  were 
organized  as  a  separate  community  by  Bishop  Mc- 
Quaid.  The  Rochester  community,  with  its 
academy  and  schools,  has  kept  pace  with  the  strik- 
ing development  of  the  diocese  educationally,  and 
from  it,  in  1883,  a  colony  was  sent  to  Concordia, 
Kansas,  where  a  flourishing  community  was 
formed — the  Concordia  community,  again,  estab- 
lishing an  independent  branch  at  La  Grange,  a 
suburb  of  Chicago.  From  Buffalo  a  second  dioce- 
san community  was  founded  at  Watertown,  N.  Y., 
in  1880.  An  independent  branch  of  the  Water- 

"Op.  cit. 

"Life  of  Mother  St.  John  F.,  p.  228. 


Mother  Guerin  and  the  Sisters  3  5 

town  community  was  settled  at  Tipton,  Ind.,  in 


i 

In  communities  historically  connected  with 
Carondelet,  there  were,  in  the  year  1908,  about 
4600  Sisters,  with  approximately  110,000  pupils.21 

MOTHER    THEODORE    GUERIN    AND    THE    SISTERS 
OF    PROVIDENCE   (1840) 

The  comprehensive  educational  plans  of  Bishop 
Brute  involved  the  procuring  of  Sisters  for  the 
parish  schools  throughout  Indiana,  and  it  was 
partly  in  fulfilment  of  this  purpose  that  his  Vicar- 
General,  Father  C.  de  la  Hailandiere,  was  sent 
to  France  shortly  before  the  former's  death.22 
The  vicar-general,  being  chosen  as  the  new 
bishop,  applied  to  the  Sisters  of  Providence,  a 
recently  founded  teaching  community  at  Ruille, 
with  the  result  that,  on  Oct.  5,  1840,  a  band  of 
six  Sisters,  with  Mother  Theodore  Guerin  as 
superior,  arrived  at  New  York,  and  commenced 
the  long  stage-journey  to  Vincennes.23  The  Sisters 
had,  on  leaving  France,  less  than  six  hundred  dol- 
lars. Upon  arriving  at  their  destination,  near 
Terre  Haute,  they  found,  in  the  midst  of  a  dense 
forest,  a  small  frame  farm-house,  partly  occupied 
by  a  Catholic  family,  with  a  log  chapel  not  far 
away.  The  Sisters  were  crowded  into  a  single 

20  Life  of  Mother  St.  John  R,  p.  228;  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S. 
of  A.,  pp.  384,  385  ;  The  Diocese  of  Ft.  Wayne,  p.  468 ;  Cath.  Dir. 

21  Cath.  Dir.,  1908. 

22  Cf.   The   Cath.   School   System  in  the  U.   S.,   Diocese  of 
Vincennes. 

23  Life  and  Life-Work  of  Mother  Theodore  Guerin,  pp.  99, 
126;    Alerding,  Hist,  of  the  Dioc.  of  Vincennes,  p.  573. 


36     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

room,  an  attic  which  had  been  used  as  a  corn-loft 
serving  as  the  dormitory.  Such  was  the  first 
humble  home  of  the  Sisters  of  Providence  in 
America.  St.  Mary's  of  the  Woods  was  the  name 
appropriately  given  to  the  place.  The  land  was 
purchased  through  the  generosity  of  friends  in 
Europe. 

The  Sisters  labored  diligently  to  acquire  Eng- 
lish, and  to  fit  themselves  for  the  work  of  teach- 
ing. An  academy  and  school  was  opened  in  July 
of  the  following  year.21  Only  four  pupils  pre- 
sented themselves  for  the  opening;  but  the  num- 
ber gradually  increased,  as  the  Sisters  became  bet- 
ter equipped  for  their  work,  and  especially  when, 
in  the  succeeding  years,  more  members  came  from 
France.  There  \vere  postulants,  too.  Four  of 
these,  in  fact,  were  at  St.  Mary's  to  meet  the  Sis- 
ters on  their  arrival,  and  others  came  before  long 
from  various  parts  of  the  State.  Before  the  end 
of  the  second  year,  schools  were  opened  in  Father 
Kundeck's  parish  at  Jasper  and  at  St.  Francis- 
ville,  111.25  From  the  latter  place,  the  Sisters  were 
transferred  two  years  later  to  St.  Peter's,  replac- 
ing the  Brothers  of  St.  Joseph.  Soon  afterwards 
they  took  charge  of  the  school  at  Vincennes. 

The  rapid  progress  of  the  community  during 
these  first  years  was  due  in  part  to  the  energy  and 
devotion  of  the  Sisters  themselves,  and  in  part 
also  to  the  active  and  generous  interest  of  the 
mother-house  at  Ruille.  Mother  Theodore  was 
a  woman  of  exceptional  ability  as  well  as  of  sin- 
gular holiness  of  life,  and  deserves  a  distinguished 

24  Mother  Theodore  Guerin,  p.  200. 

25  Ib.,  p.  219  seq. ;    Alerding,  op.  cit.,  p.  580. 


Mother  Guerin  and  the  Sisters  37 

place  among  the  great  Catholic  educational 
pioneers  of  this  period.  During  the  sixteen  years 
of  her  administration  she  succeeded,  not  only  in 
guiding  the  young  community  safely  through  dif- 
ficulties, but  in  permanently  impressing  upon  its 
character  the  stamp  of  her  own  personality.  A 
descendant  of  an  illustrious  family,  she  was  a 
Religious  of  mature  experience  when  she  assumed 
the  responsibilities  of  the  new  establishment  in 
America.  Quick  to  realize  the  educational  possi- 
bilities of  the  time  and  place,  she  made  it  her  aim 
from  the  very  first  to  offer  in  the  academy  at  St. 
Mary's,  notwithstanding  the  poverty  and  the 
meager  attendance  at  the  beginning,  a  curriculum 
comparable  with  that  of  the  best  schools  for  girls 
in  her  native  land.28  She  entertained  the  loftiest 
ideals,  too,  in  regard  to  the  preparation  of  teach- 
ers destined  for  the  parish  schools,  and  she  was 
inflexible  in  insisting  upon  the  full  carrying  out 
of  all  that  the  community  rules  required  on  this 
point. 

Never  in  the  history  of  religious  orders  in 
America,  however,  was  a  superior  more  sorely 
tried.  The  authorities  in  France  thought  the 
establishment  too  remote  to  be  governed  from 
there,  and  the  Sisters  at  St.  Mary's,  although 
desirous  of  remaining  united  to  France,  were  thus 
brought  under  diocesan  jurisdiction.  The  dif- 
ficulties and  troubles  caused  by  the  acts  and  policy 
of  the  bishop  with  respect  to  the  community  do 
not,  fortunately,  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  work, 
since  they  had  only  a  secondary  bearing  upon  edu- 
cation, and  they  were,  moreover,  not  lasting,  the 

"Life  of  Mother  Theodore,  p.  215. 


38     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

bishop  resigning  in  i847-27  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
Mother  Theodore  bore  herself  throughout  these 
painful  trials  with  the  simplicity  and  devotedness 
of  a  faithful  Religious  as  well  as  with  the  forti- 
tude befitting  an  heroic  character. 

Under  Bishops  Bazin  and  St.  Palais,  she  re- 
sumed the  direction  of  affairs,  and  from  this  time 
on  the  development  of  the  community '  and  the 
extension  of  its  work  was  steady  and  rapid. 
Mother  Theodore  had  able  coadjutors,  chief 
among  whom  were  Sisters  Francis  Xavier  and 
Cecilia,  the  latter  succeeding  her  as  superior-gen- 
eral.28 At  the  time  of  Mother  Theodore's  death, 
in  1856,  fourteen  establishments  had  been  formed, 
the  principal  ones  being  schools  at  Madison,  Fort 
Wayne,  Terre  Haute,  Evansville,  and  Columbus, 
besides  the  central  institution  at  St.  Mary's,  which 
had  been  greatly  enlarged.29  Under  Mother 
Cecilia  the  community  continued  to  grow  and  to 
spread.  Schools  were  opened  at  Washington  and 
Indianapolis.  The  work  of  the  Sisters  was  also 
gradually  extended  to  other  States,  establishments 
being  founded  in  Michigan  and  Illinois,  as  well  as 
in  States  as  far  away  as  Maryland,  Massachusetts, 
and  Nebraska.  In  1910  the  community  had  9^7 
Sisters,  with  68  parish  schools,  15  academies,  and 
1 8, 1 60  pupils.30 

"  Ci.  op.  cit.,  passim. 

28  Cath.  Ed.  Rev.,  T,  p.  143. 

29  Alerding,  op.  cit.,  p.   585. 

80  Records  of  the  mother-house :  Cath.  Dir.,  1908. 


Sister  Louise  and  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame       39 


SISTER  LOUISE THE  SISTERS  OF  NOTRE 

DAME  (NAMUR)   (1840) 

Cincinnati  had  become  a  center  of  Catholic 
educational  work  and  influence  even  during  the 
episcopate  of  Bishop  Fenwick,  and  the  policy  of 
establishing  schools  alongside  the  churches  be- 
came a  cardinal  principle  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  B. 
Purcell,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  year  i833-31 
Bishop  Purcell  recognized  the  necessity  of  provid- 
ing a  body  of  professional  teachers  for  his  grow- 
ing schools.  In  1839  he  journeyed  to  Europe  for 
this  purpose,  and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of 
engaging  for  the  diocese  a  band  of  Sisters  from 
one  of  the  most  promising  religious  institutes  of 
the  Old  World — the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  a 
teaching  community  founded  after  the  French 
Revolution  by  the  venerable  Mother  Julia  Billiart, 
with  its  mother-house  at  Namur,  Belgium. 

The  party,  which  arrived  at  New  York  on 
Oct.  19,  1840,  was  composed  of  eight  Sisters,  all 
of  whom  had  offered  themselves  as  volunteers, 
Sister  Louis  de  Gonzague  being  the  superior.  In 
the  group  was  a  native  of  Holland,  named  in  the 
world  Josephine  Vender  Schriek  and  in  religion 
Sister  Louise,  who  was  destined  a  few  years  later 
to  assume  the  leadership  of  the  community  in 
America  and  to  be  the  directing  spirit  of  its  devel- 
opment during  a  period  of  over  forty  years. 

The  Sisters  began  their  work  in  a  humble  way. 
A  small  house  on  Sycamore  Street,  opposite  the 
present  Jesuit  church  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  was 
81  Cf.  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  331. 


4o     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

rented;  but  as  the  building  was  too  small  and 
miserable  for  school  work  of  any  sort  they  bought 
a  large  and  finely  appointed  house  about  a  dozen 
yards  from  the  former,  on  Sixth  Street,  for 
$24,000,  and  here  school  was  opened  January  18, 
i84i.32  The  Sisters  looked  with  simple  faith  to 
Providence  to  enable  them  to  pay  for  the  new 
place.  Only  one  of  them,  Sister  Louise,  could 
speak  English,  yet  pupils  came  in  increasing  num- 
bers. An  academy  as  well  as  a  parochial  school 
was  opened,  and  in  a  few  months  the  pupils, 
boarders  and  day-scholars,  numbered  sixty.  Two 
years  later,  three  more  Sisters  came  from  Namur, 
and  the  institution  was  enlarged  by  the  purchase 
of  an  adjoining  house,  which  was  soon  filled  with 
pupils.  In  1845  six  more  Sisters  arrived  from  the 
mother-house.  A  school  was  now  opened  in 
Toledo,  and  Sister  Louis  de  Gonzague  appointed 
as  superior,  while  Sister  Louise  was  named  as 
her  successor  in  Cincinnati. 

It  was  evident  that  the  people  of  Cincinnati 
held  the  Sisters  in  high  esteem,  for  Protestants 
as  well  as  Catholics  patronized  the  institution. 
Their  ability  as  teachers  made  itself  felt  from  the 
very  beginning,  in  spite  of  their  lack  of  English, 
and  as  this  difficulty  gradually  grew  less,  and  the 
number  of  Sisters  increased,  new  schools  were 
opened  in  Cincinnati,  especially  in  the  newly  form- 
ing German  parishes,  as  well  as  in  other  places.33 
In  1849  Sister  Louise  was  made  superior  of  all 
the  houses  branching  from  the  original  founda- 

32  Memoirs  of  Sister  Louise,  p.  47  seq. ;    Hist.  Cath.  Ch.  in 
U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 
"Memoirs  of  Sister  Louise,  p.  80  seq. 


Sister  Louise  and  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame       41 

tion.  Previous  to  this,  in  1843,  eight  Sisters  had 
been  sent  from  Namur  to  Father  De  Smet's  mis- 
sions in  Oregon,  in  response  to  his  urgent  appeal. 
After  laboring  there  under  great  privations  and 
hardships,  these  devoted  pioneers  were,  in  1851, 
transferred  to  San  Jose,  Cal.,  where,  with  the  aid 
of  four  Sisters  from  Cincinnati,  a  school  was 
opened  which  became  in  time  the  mother-house 
of  an  extensive  series  of  establishments  along  the 
Pacific  Coast. 

Under  Sister  Louise  academies  and  schools 
began  to  multiply.  Vocations  were  numerous, 
thirteen  postulants  being  received  in  six  months 
during  the  year  1850-51.  An  establishment  at 
Dayton  was  founded  in  1849,  an^  tne  same  year 
witnessed  the  beginning  of  the  Sisters'  work  in 
the  East,  on  their  taking  charge  of  the  girls' 
school  in  St.  Mary's  Parish,  Boston.  Later  on, 
they  took  up  their  residence  on  Berkeley  Street, 
in  the  Back  Bay  district,  where  they  opened  an 
academy,  while  still  continuing  to  teach  at  St. 
Mary's.  In  1853  a  school  was  opened  at  Lowell, 
Mass.,  and  the  year  following  an  academy  was 
founded  at  Roxbury.  Additional  schools  and 
academies  were  opened  in  Massachusetts  in  the 
succeeding  years,  the  Archdiocese  of  Boston  be- 
coming eventually  one  of  the  most  important 
centers  of  their  work.  Invitations  to  establish 
schools  and  academies,  in  fact,  poured  in  from 
all  sides.  In  1856  they  opened  an  academy  in 
Philadelphia,  where,  several  years  later,  Mother 
Julia  laid  the  foundations  of  the  well-known  in- 
stitution on  Rittenhouse  Square.  Other  schools 
were  opened  from  time  to  time  in  Philadelphia, 


42     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

which  became  another  important  center  of  their 
work  in  the  East.  Ohio  and  the  Middle  West 
also  continued  to  witness  the  growth  of  the  com- 
munity through  the  foundation  of  new  institutions. 
The  mother-house  in  Cincinnati  was  enlarged  in 
1859  by  the  removal  of  the  boarding-school  to 
"Mount  Notre  Dame,"  then  at  some  distance 
from  the  city.  Another  design  of  Sister  Louise, 
the  removal  of  the  novitiate  to  a  site  outside  the 
city,  was  accomplished  about  a  year  after  her 
death,  when  Mother  Julia  purchased  the  mag- 
nificent property  at  East  Walnut  Hills.34 

The  rapid,  solid  growth  of  the  community, 
evidenced  in  these  outlines,  has  few  parallels  in 
the  history  of  religious  orders  in  the  country. 
It  was  largely  due  to  the  esteem  in  which  the  Sis- 
ters were  held,  but  this  again  was  attributable  to 
the  spirit  of  the  order  and  the  training  of  the 
Sisters  both  as  religious  and  as  teachers.  Circum- 
stances, of  course,  were  favorable.  The  chief 
credit,  however,  was  due  to  the  wise  and  firm 
administration  of  Sister  Louise,  who  continued  as 
superior  of  the  community  until  her  death  in  1886. 
She  had  all  the  qualities  of  an  ideal  religious 
superior,  and  the  exercise  of  her  talents  and  vir- 
tues was  unceasingly  directed  to  the  development 
of  the  work  of  the  institute  of  which  she  was  the 
head.  Her  fine  religious  zeal  seemed  to  be  com- 
municated to  all  her  spiritual  children,  and  the 
generation  which  came  after  her  needed  only  to 
continue  along  the  lines  she  had  laid  down.  She 
trained  Mother  Julia,  who  succeeded  her,  and  one 

34  Memoirs,  pp.  69-162;  Records  of  the  mother-house,   Cin- 
cinnati. 


Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  43 

of  her  last  acts  was  to  appoint  this  very  able 
woman  as  assistant-superior.35 

It  is  remarkable  that,  although  Sister  Louise 
was  more  anxious  to  establish  parochial  schools 
than  academies,  the  community  was  led  more  and 
more  into  the  field  of  secondary  and  collegiate 
work.  This  was  due,  doubtless,  to  the  high  regard 
entertained  for  the  ability  of  the  Sisters  as  teach- 
ers, joined  to  the  academic  needs  of  the  times. 
This  tendency  culminated,  in  the  year  1900,  in  the 
foundation  of  Trinity  College,  at  Washington,  D. 
C.,  by  Mother  Julia,  an  institution  which  is  almost 
alone  among  Catholic  institutions  of  higher  edu- 
cation in  the  United  States  in  not  receiving  stu- 
dents below  the  Freshman  year,  and  which  also 
occupies  a  unique  position  among  colleges  for 
women  by  reason  of  the  administrative  relations 
it  bears  to  the  Catholic  public. 

In  1910  the  Sisters  numbered  1248,  with  12 
academies,  64  parish  schools,  and  30,974  pupils.36 

SISTERS    OF    THE     HOLY     CROSS MOTHER 

ANGELA   (1843) 

In  two  important  respects  the  history  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  is  like  that  of  the  other 
great  sisterhoods  in  the  United  States:  there  was 
a  fiery  furnace  of  trial  in  the  beginning,  and  there 
was  the  creative  influence  of  a  great  personality 
in  the  Order's  development.  Founded  in  1841  by 
the  Abbe  Moreau,  who  had  established  the  Con- 

81  Memoirs,  pp.  69-162;  Records  of  the  mother-house,  Cin- 
cinnati. 

38  Cath.  Dir.,  1910.  These  figures  do  not  include  the  sta- 
tistics of  the  California  Province,  which  was  founded  directly 
by  the  mother-house  of  Namur. 


44     Teaching  Commnuities  in  Immigration  Period 

gregation  of  the  Holy  Cross  a  few  years  before, 
the  first  Sisters  in  the  United  States  arrived  at 
Notre  Dame  two  years  later,  in  response  to  the 
appeal  of  Father  Sorin.  As  Bishop  de  la  Hai- 
landiere  refused  to  authorize  the  opening  of  a 
novitiate,  this  institution  was,  in  1844,  established 
at  Bertrand,  just  outside  the  Indiana  diocese, 
where  an  academy  and  school  were  also  opened.37 
A  few  children  from  the  neighborhood  formed 
the  attendance  the  first  year.  There  were  several 
English-speaking  novices,  and  with  the  aid  of 
these  and  professors  from  Notre  Dame  the 
French  Sisters  were  soon  able  to  begin  to  teach 
in  English.  Money  was  an  unknown  commodity, 
we  are  told,  provisions  being  brought  from  Notre 
Dame.  The  next  year,  however,  a  grant  of  five 
thousand  francs  by  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Faith,  and  the  donation  of  seventy- 
seven  acres  of  land  by  the  inhabitants  of  Bertrand, 
brightened  the  prospects  considerably.  Their  first 
home  was  a  small  frame  building,  rented  from 
Mr.  Bertrand;  now,  a  new  building  was  erected 
— a  two-story  frame  structure,  and  by  the  end  of 
the  year  1845  tne  total  number  in  the  community 
had  increased  to  fourteen.38 

The   following  year  more  Sisters  came   from 
France.     The  years  from  1848  to  1855  were  the 

87  A  Story  of  Fifty  Years,  p.  22.  It  is  interesting  to  record 
that  the  Sisters  re-opened  the  Indian  school  which  had  been 
established  by  Father  Badin  near  Bertrand  some  fourteen 
years  before,  and  taught  by  Miss  Campeau.  The  school  was 
taught  by  the  Sisters  from  1845  until  1852.  Its  closing  was 
necessitated  by  the  dispersion  of  the  remaining  Indians,  owing 
to  the  coming  of  the  whites  and  the  development  of  the  coun- 
try. Ib.,  p.  56. 

38  Ib.,  p.  32;    Hist.  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  370  seq. 


Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  45 

period  of  organization,  when  the  life  and  spirit 
of  the  community  was  being  shaped  under  the 
direction  of  Father  Sorin,  and  its  academic  ideals 
fostered  and  developed  by  the  training  of  the 
Sisters,  professors  being  secured  from  Notre 
Dame  and  other  places  for  the  purpose.  By  1850 
the  academy  showed  an  attendance-roll  of  fifty 
boarders.  In  1855  the  entire  institution  was 
moved  from  Bertrand  to  a  beautiful  tract  of  land 
about  a  mile  west  of  Notre  Dame,  on  the  pictur- 
esque St.  Joseph  River,  near  the  point  where 
La  Salle  and  so  many  other  voyagers  after  him, 
leaving  the  river,  struck  across  the  ancient  Indian 
portage  for  the  headwaters  of  the  Kankakee.  "St. 
Mary's  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,"  as  the 
new  home  of  the  Sisters  was  named,  grew  rapidly 
from  this  time  on.  Building  was  added  to  building, 
and  the  academy  soon  took  a  high  rank  among 
educational  institutions  of  its  class,  the  work  in  art 
and  music  especially  giving  it  reputation.  In  1869 
the  community  received  recognition  at  Rome  as 
an  Order  independent  of  the  parent  body  in 
France. 

Father  Sorin  was  the  dominant  personality  in 
the  development  of  the  community  up  to  the  time 
of  the  Civil  War,  and,  as  its  ecclesiastical  superior, 
he  continued  to  have  a  great  influence  in  shaping 
its  growth  and  policy  down  to  the  time  of  the 
approval  of  the  rules  and  constitutions  by  Rome 
in  1889.  There  was  another  remarkable  person- 
ality, however,  to  which  the  community  owes  no 
less  than  to  Father  Sorin.  T'his  was  Mother 
Angela,  who  was  appointed  as  head  of  the  acad- 
emy at  Bertrand  in  1854,  and  who  "for  more 


46     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

than  thirty  years  governed  the  growing  commu- 
nity, formed  its  members,  and  directed  its  mani- 
fold energies."  39  Mother  Angela's  great 
endowments  of  mind  and  heart  excercised  a 
quickening  and  permanent  influence  upon  the 
community  in  several  ways.  From  a  modest 
boarding  school,  the  academy  was  raised  to  a 
plane  of  high  educational  efficiency  and  given 
definite  intellectual  ideals.  She  devoted  herself 
particularly  to  the  training  of  the  Sisters  who 
were  to  teach.  In  this  as  in  other  respects,  the 
standards  she  set  were  beyond  the  power  of  the 
community  to  realize  during  her  time,  and  were 
handed  down  to  the  generation  that  came  after 
her  as  the  most  precious  heritage  of  the  past. 

Mother  Angela,  like  Father  Sorin,  was  an 
ardent  patriot,  and  when  the  Civil  War  broke  out 
the  services  of  the  community  were  offered  to  the 
Government.  It  is  to  the  glory  of  the  Sisters  of 
Holy  Cross,  as  well  as  of  the  American  teaching 
profession,  that  the  energies  of  this  devoted  body 
of  women  were,  for  the  time  being,  diverted  very 
largely  from  the  schools  and  turned  to  the  service 

89  A  Story  of  Fifty  Years,  pp.  40-188.  Mother  Angela 
(Eliza  Maria  Gillespie)  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1824,  and 
died  in  1887.  As  a  child,  she  was  the  companion  of  her  cousin, 
the  future  statesman,  James  Gillespie  Elaine.  She  was  educated 
at  the  Dominican  Convent  at  Somerset,  Ohio,  and  at  the  Visi- 
tation Convent,  Georgetown.  Stopping  at  Notre  Dame  in  1853, 
while  on  her  way  to  join  a  religious  community  in  Chicago, 
she  was  attracted  by  the  life  and  work  of  the  Sisters  at  Notre 
Dame  and  Bertrand.  Father  Sorin  sent  her  to  France  at  once, 
in  order  to  study  to  better  advantage  while  making  her  novi- 
tiate, and  on  her  return  the  following  year  she  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  academy.  "Mother  Angela's  personality  had 
a  fascination  about  it;  she  was  courteous,  tactful,  sympa- 
thetic, a  rare  conversationalist;  in  fine,  a  woman  of  highest 
culture  and  truest  spirituality." — Tbid.,  p.  133  seq. 


Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  47 

of  their  country  in  tending  to  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers  in  the  camps  and  military  hospitals. 
Many  of  the  best  teachers  of  the  order  were  sent 
South,  Mother  Angela  herself  being  one  of  the 
first  to  go.  The  war  records  bear  the  names  of 
nearly  four-score  Sisters  of  Holy  Cross.  Great 
were  the  sacrifices,  in  an  educational  way,  which 
this  work  of  charity  and  patriotism  entailed.  "No 
other  order,"  it  has  been  said,  "made  for  the  pur- 
pose sacrifices  as  did  the  Holy  Cross."  40 

Previous  to  the  Civil  War  schools  or  acade- 
mies had  been  founded  at  South  Bend  (Lowell), 
Laporte,  Michigan  City,  Chicago,  Philadelphia, 
Washington,  and  Baltimore.41  The  schools  at 
Philadelphia,  although  flourishing,  were  given  up, 
while  in  the  two  latter  places  the  work  of  the 
Sisters  continued  to  develop  after  the  War,  espe- 
cially in  Washington,  where  the  educational 
interests  of  the  community  came  to  include  several 
boarding  academies,  as  well  as  a  number  of  parish 
schools.  In  the  West  the  Chicago  foundation, 
although  most  promising,  was  also  relinquished; 
but  many  schools  were  opened  in  Indiana  and 
Illinois  as  well  as  in  States  farther  West.  In 
1875  an  academy  was  founded  at  Salt  Lake  City, 
a  place  which  became  a  center  for  the  work  of 
the  Sisters  in  the  Far  West,  other  schools  being 
opened  in  Utah,  as  also  in  Idaho  and  California.42 

The  community  in  the  year  1909  numbered 
almost  one  thousand  members.  The  work  of  the 


40  Archbishop    Ireland,    Sermon    on    the    Occasion    of    the 
Golden  Jubilee  of  Father  Sorin,  1888,  in  op.  cit.,  p.  in. 

41  Ib.,  p.  57- 

42  Ib.,  p.  148  seq. ;    Records  of  the  Mother-house. 


48     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

Sisters  is  about  equally  divided  between  parish 
schools  and  academies. 

MOTHER    WARDE THE    SISTERS    OF    MERCY 

(1843) 

The  religious  teaching  orders,  as  has  been 
pointed  out,  may  be  divided  into  two  main  classes: 
those  which  have  a  closely  knit  organization, 
with  a  series  of  establishments  dependent  upon 
a  common  center  or  mother-house,  whether  within 
the  limits  of  a  single  diocese,  or  without  dio- 
cesan limitation;  and  those  whose  establish- 
ments are  independent,  although  under  a  common 
name  and  rule,  and  with  a  common  historic  origin. 
In  the  case  of  the  latter,  there  is  often  a  relation 
of  more  or  less  dependence  between  a  series  of 
houses  and  the  establishment  to  which  they  owe 
their  origin.  The  Sisters  of  Mercy  belong  rather 
to  the  former  class,  and  are  diocesan  in  organ- 
ization. 

The  foundation  of  the  Order  in  America  dates 
from  the  time  of  the  arrival  in  Pittsburgh  of 
Mother  Mary  Frances  Xavier  Warde  with  six 
other  Sisters,  from  the  convent  of  Carlow,  Ire- 
land, Dec.  21,  i843-43  Mother  Warde  was  cast 
in  the  same  heroic  mold  as  the  saintly  foundress 
of  the  order,  Mother  Catherine  McAuley,  and 
she  has  left  the  impress  of  her  life  and  work  upon 
our  land  for  all  time.  She  was  born  at  Moun- 
trath,  Queens  County,  Ireland,  about  the  year 
1810.  Of  a  lively,  fun-loving  disposition,  the 
youthful  Frances  was  at  the  same  time  strongly 

43  Rev.  Mother  M.  Xavier  Warde,  p.  97;   Life  of  Catherine 
McAuley,  p.  506. 


Mother  Warde  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy        49 

drawn  to  religion  from  her  earliest  years. 
Naturally  bright,  she  was  educated  after  the  best 
standards  of  the  time.  Her  character,  according 
to  those  who  knew  her  most  intimately,  was  "a 
combination  of  candor  and  common  sense,  of 
sweetness  and  firmness."  44  Her  heart  overflowed 
with  love  and  sympathy  for  others,  and  when  she 
came  into  contact  with  the  educational  and  chari- 
table work  of  Catherine  McAuley  in  Dublin,  it 
needed  only  the  touch  of  the  personal  influence 
of  the  foundress  to  cause  the  accomplished  girl 
of  eighteen  to  turn  away  from  the  dazzling  pros- 
pects the  world  was  offering  to  her,  and  join  the 
little  band  of  devoted  women  who  were  laying  the 
foundations  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  Ireland. 
Father  O'Connor — afterwards  bishop — brought 
the  Sisters  to  Pittsburgh,  where,  some  months 
after  their  arrival,  they  opened  a  school  in  the 
basement  of  their  first  convent  on  Penn  Street. 
Mother  Warde,  who  had  been  superior  at  Car- 
low,  was  now  a  woman  of  ripened  judgment,  and 
her  experience,  added  to  a  rare  insight  and  cour- 
age, fitted  her  peculiarly  for  the  rough  trials 
incident  to  the  pioneer  educational  and  religious 
work  she  was  called  upon  to  do. 

Many  subjects  soon  entered  the  novitiate, 
among  whom  was  Miss  Eliza  Tiernan,  known  as 
Sister  Mary  Xavier,  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy 
banker.45  The  school  attendance  also  rapidly  in- 
creased. A  generous  Catholic,  Mr.  Kuhn,  having 
donated  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  of  land  for  the 
purpose,  the  Sisters  were  induced  to  erect  a  board- 

44  Mother  M.  Xavier  Warde,  p.  16. 
44  Ib.,  p.  98  seq. 


So     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

ing-school,  which  became  known  as  St.  Xavier's 
Convent  and  Academy.  In  1846  Mother  Warde, 
fulfilling  the  prophetic  hopes  of  Bishop  Brute,46 
took  with  her  six  religious,  with  Sister  M.  Agatha 
O'Brien  as  superior,  and  proceeded  to  Chicago, 
then  "a  small  wooden  city,  with  about  fifteen  thou- 
sand inhabitants."  They  took  up  their  residence 
at  first  in  a  wretched  little  house  at  the  corner 
of  Michigan  Avenue  and  Madison  Street.  A 
dilapidated  frame  building  adjoining  was  turned 
into  a  schoolhouse;  and  soon,  we  are  told,  it  was 
metamorphosed  into  "  the  prettiest  and  best 
equipped  school  building  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Michigan."  47  Such  were  the  humble  beginnings 
in  Chicago,  where,  under  the  guidance  of  prudent 
superiors,  the  work  was  destined  to  grow  to  such 
extensive  proportions. 

It  was  a  rough,  roundabout  trip  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  Chicago  in  those  days.  The  Sisters  had 
gone  by  way  of  the  Great  Lakes.  Mother  Warde 
came  back  alone,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  traveling 
in  a  kind  of  stage-wagon,  drawn  part  of  the  way 
by  oxen.  For  two  days  and  nights  she  had  neither 
food  nor  drink,  and  for  days  and  nights  at  a  time 
she  never  dared  for  a  moment  to  close  her  eyes. 
She  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  in  a  state  of  utter  col- 
lapse, her  garments  saturated  with  water  and 
mud.  But  her  iron  will  was  never  known  to  bend 
under  personal  suffering  or  adversity — truly,  a 
woman  worthy  to  build  upon  the  foundations  laid 
by  a  Badin  and  a  Brute. 

Under    such    leadership    the    order    grew  and 

«•  Cf .  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  357- 
"Mother  M.  Xavier  Warde,  p.  135  seq. 


Mother  Warde  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy          51 

spread  very  rapidly.  The  house  in  Chicago  de- 
veloped and  became  in  time  the  mother-house  of 
many  schools  and  academies  in  the  city,  as  well  as 
of  some  at  a  distance.  One  of  its  branch-founda- 
tions was  at  Ottawa,  111.  In  fulfilment  of  a  wish 
of  Father  Gallitzin,  "the  Apostle  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,"  Mother  Warde,  in  1848,  sent  a  colony 
to  Loretto,  Pa.,  which  became  an  important  center 
of  the  work  of  the  order.  The  mother-house  of 
this  branch  was  afterwards  changed  to  Cresson.48 
In  later  years  the  Pittsburgh  house  sent  new  col- 
onies to  found  independent  centers  at  Titusville 
and  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.  In  1851,  the  indefatigable 
foundress,  taking  with  her  four  of  the  nuns  at 
Pittsburgh,  opened  a  school  in  Providence,  R.  I., 
and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  the  work  of  the 
Sisters  of  Mercy  in  New  England. 

Mother  Warde  also  founded  institutions  for 
the  sick  and  the  poor,  but  she  realized  that  the 
supremely  appealing  work  of  mercy  for  the  age 
was  the  establishment  of  Catholic  schools.  "What 
work  so  Godlike,"  she  would  repeat,  "as  the  care 
of  the  development  of  these  young  intellects  and 
the  cultivation  of  their  pure  hearts !"  49  The  work 
prospered  in  Providence,  and  from  there  its  influ- 
ence soon  spread  far  and  wide.  Free  schools  were 
opened  in  the  city,  and  a  fine  large  academy  built. 
Missions  were  founded  in  Hartford  and  New 
Haven  in  1852,  the  former  becoming  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  important  centers  of  the  order. 
The  development  of  the  work  in  Connecticut  was 

"Life,  p.  153  seq. ;   The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  Vol.  I, 
The  Religious  Communities,  p.  393. 
49  Life,  p.  158. 


52     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

due  chiefly  to  Mothers  Pauline  Maher  and  Angela 
Fitzgerald.50  From  Providence  Mother  Warde, 
in  1857,  took  a  band  of  Sisters  to  Rochester, 
which  became  in  turn  an  independent  center. 
Foundations  were  also  made  at  Newport,  Paw- 
tucket,  Cranston,  and  other  places  in  New  Eng- 
land, as  well  as  at  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  and  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.  During  the  Know-Nothing  excite- 
ment of  1855  Mother  Warde  stood  firm  at  her 
post  in  Providence,  refusing  to  leave  the  city  at 
the  request  of  the  timid  mayor,  and  raising  by 
her  example  the  courage  of  the  little  band  of 
Catholics. 

Her  last  great  foundation  was  the  convent  at 
Manchester,  N.  H.  With  a  few  Sisters  from  the 
house  in  Providence  she  began  to  work  under  the 
most  discouraging  prospects,  but  bigotry  melted 
away  at  her  touch,  and  the  children  of  the  "Gran- 
ite State,"  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics,  flocked 
to  the  free  schools  and  academies  she  established. 
The  academy  at  the  mother-house,  known  as  Mt. 
St.  Mary's,  has  had  an  important  influence  upon 
Catholic  education  in  New  England.  From  there 
also  colonies  were  sent  out  to  form  new  centers 
at  Philadelphia,  Omaha,  Yreka,  Cal.,  Jersey  City, 
St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  and  Portland,  Me.  Mother 
Warde  died  at  Manchester,  Sept.  17,  1884. 

Besides  the  original  colony  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  which  accompanied  Mother  Warde,  sev- 
eral other  bands  of  the  Sisters  came  from  Ireland 
to  the  United  States.  One  of  these  established 
St.  Catherine's  Convent  and  Academy,  New  York 
City,  in  1846,  from  which,  as  the  mother-house, 

00  Life,  p.   1 86  seq. 


Mother  Warde  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  53 

new  centers  were  formed  at  Brooklyn,  St.  Louis, 
Albany,  and  Rennselaer,  N.  Y.  In  1868  Bishop 
McCloskey  brought  seven  of  the  community  in 
St.  Louis  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  where,  with  the 
growth  of  the  new  convent,  the  Sisters  opened 
two  academies  and  took  charge  of  many  of  the 
parish  schools.51  Another  colony  from  Ireland, 
consisting  of  thirteen  Sisters,  with  Mother  Agnes, 
a  woman  of  rare  tact  and  energy,  at  their  head, 
founded  St.  Elizabeth's  Convent  and  Academy,  at 
Middletown,  Conn.,  in  1872,  and  St.  Bridget's 
at  Meriden,  in  the  same  State.  From  St.  Eliza- 
beth's branch-houses  were  established  at  Bridge- 
port, Greenwich,  Portland,  Newtown,  and  Nauga- 
tuck;  while  from  St.  Bridget's,  which  became  an 
independent  mother-house,  schools  were  opened 
at  Norwalk,  Derby,  Rockville,  New  London,  and 
Torrington,  with  academies  at  Ansonia  and  Mil- 
ford.52  Other  colonies  from  Ireland  settled  at 
Little  Rock,  Ark.  ( 1850),  San  Francisco  (1854), 
Cincinnati  ( 1858) ,  and  Philadelphia  (i86o).53 

In  the  year  1910,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  in  the 
United  States  numbered  4395,  about  one-half  of 
whom  were  engaged  in  teaching  in  secondary  and 
elementary  schools.  The  latter  contained  about 
70,000  pupils. 

51  Records  of  the  Louisville  Convent. 

62  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  Vol.  I,  p.  395  seq. 

"Life  of  Catherine  McAuley,  p.  506  seq. 


54     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 


URSULINES 

From  the  venerable  Ursuline  establishment  in 
New  Orleans,  two  bands  of  Sisters  were  sent  out 
during  the  Immigration  Period  which  have  had  an 
important  educational  influence  in  the  Southwest. 
One  of  these  opened  an  academy  and  free  school 
in  Galveston,  Jan.  16,  1847;  and  the  other,  an 
academy  and  free  school  in  San  Antonio,  Sept.  7, 
1851.  From  each  of  the  two  establishments  new 
foundations  were  made  in  these  cities,  and  acad- 
emies and  schools  were  also  opened  at  Bryan, 
Laredo,  and  Dallas.  Until  recently,  the  convents 
of  the  Ursuline  Order  have  been,  like  those  of 
the  Dominican  Sisters,  independent.54 

Another  historic  center  of  the  Ursuline  Order 
was  founded  when,  in  1845,  eleven  nuns  were 
brought  by  Father  Machebeuf  from  Ursuline  con- 
vents in  France  and  established  at  St.  Martin's, 
Brown  County,  Ohio,  where  they  opened  an  acad- 
emy and  school.  A  convent  of  the  order  was 
established  at  Cleveland  in  1850,  and  from  Cleve- 
land new  convents  were  founded  at  Toledo,  Tiffin, 
and  Youngstown,  each  the  center  of  a  number  of 
schools.55  The  mother-house  for  the  Cleveland 
branch,  with  its  numerous  schools  in  that  city,  has 
been  established  at  Villa  Angela,  in  Cuyahoga 
County,  where  a  flourishing  academy  has  also 
grown  up.  From  St.  Martin's  also  Bishop  Lynch 
brought  a  band  of  six  Sisters  to  Columbus,  S.  C., 

64  Records  of  the  Ursuline  Convent,  N.  O. ;    Cath.  Dir. 
05  Hewlett,  Life  of  Rt.  Rev.  J.  P.  Machebeuf,  p.  133;    Houck, 
A  Hist,  of  Catholicity  in  Northern  Ohio,  pp.  82,  721  seq. 


Ursulines  55 

where  they  began  an  academy  and  school. 
A  branch  of  the  Columbus  school  has  recently 
been  started  at  Greenville,  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  State.56  Another  band  of  Sisters  from  St. 
Martin's  founded  an  academy  at  Santa  Rosa,  Cal., 
in  1880,  a  branch  of  which  was  later  established 
at  St.  Helena. 

The  Toledo  group,  in  1884,  sent  a  band  of 
Sisters  to  Montana,  where  a  number  of  academies 
and  schools  for  Indians,  and  also  for  whites,  were 
developed,  the  most  important  being  the  Academy 
of  Mt.  St.  Angela.  An  interesting  offshoot  of  the 
Montana  foundation  was  the  sending  of  three 
Ursulines  to  open  a  school  at  Akularak,  Alaska, 
in  1905." 

An  even  more  important  Ursuline  foundation 
— viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  historic  develop- 
ment— was  made  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1848,  by 
nuns  from  Austria.  From  their  mother-house  in 
that  city,  schools  were  taken  up  by  these  Sisters 
in  many  parishes  through  Missouri,  and  several 
branch-houses  were  established  which  have 
achieved  considerable  educational  importance. 
The  first  and  most  important  of  these  branch- 
establishments  was  founded  in  1855,  when  ten 
nuns  from  St.  Louis  opened  an  academy  at  East 
Morrisania,  New  York  City.  The  academy  and 
mother-house  was  removed  to  a  handsome  site  at 
Bedford  Park  in  1892.  Besides  this  institution, 
the  "Bedford  Park"  group  of  Ursulines  founded 
an  academy  at  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  have  two 
academies  and  several  schools  in  New  York  City. 

58  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  451. 
87  Ibid. 


56     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

In  1873  the  convent  at  East  Morrisania  put  forth 
another  branch,  when  Sisters  were  sent  to  take 
charge  of  the  schools  of  St.  Theresa's  Parish. 
The  work  grew  rapidly,  a  novitiate  was  estab- 
lished there,  and  an  academy  and  school  at  Mid- 
dletown.  Another  academy  was  founded  at  New 
Rochelle,  where,  under  the  energetic  direction  of 
Mother  Irene,  the  Sisters  opened  St.  Angela's 
College  in  1904,  an  institution  which,  with  its 
new  buildings,  able  teaching  staff,  and  modern 
curriculum,  promises  much  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  Catholic  women.58 

The  St.  Louis  convent  sent  another  colony  of 
nuns  to  Alton,  111.,  in  1859,  who  founded  an  acad- 
emy there,  and  opened  a  number  of  schools 
through  the  diocese.  A  school  was  also  established 
at  Lake  City,  Minn.,  and  the  Villa  Maria  Acad- 
emy opened  at  Frontenac,  in  the  same  State.59 

Several  other  colonies  of  Ursulines  from 
Europe  established  themselves  in  the  United 
States.  One  of  these,  consisting  of  three  nuns 
from  Bavaria,  founded  an  academy  at  Louisville, 
in  1859.  With  the  growth  of  the  convent,  the 
Sisters  were  able  to  establish  another  academy, 
known  as  Mt.  St.  Joseph's,  in  western  Kentucky. 
The  academy  in  Louisville  has  developed  steadily, 
new  buildings  being  erected  in  1899.  A  large 
number  of  the  parish  schools  in  Louisville,  as 
well  as  some  outside  of  the  city,  are  in  charge  of 
the  Ursulines,  and  they  have  several  other  schools 
beyond  the  diocese.00 

MThe  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  I,  pp.  443,  444. 
69  Ib.,  p.  446;  Cath.  Dir. 
60  Ib.,  p.  449- 


Ursulines'  57 

A  band  of  Ursulines  driven  from  its  German 
home  by  the  Kulturkampf,  after  establishing  sev- 
eral schools  in  the  diocese  of  Peoria,  opened  a 
school  at  York,  Neb.,  which  became  the  center  of 
a  group  of  schools  in  the  dioceses  of  Lincoln  and 
Omaha.61  Independent  Ursuline  convents  have 
also  been  established  at  Pittsburgh,  Grand  Forks, 
N.  Dak.,  Waterville,  Maine,  Muskegon,  Mich., 
and  Malone,  N.  Y.62 

A  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Ursuline  Order  occurred  in  1900,  when  delegates 
from  many  houses  throughout  the  world  met,  at 
the  invitation  of  the  Holy  See,  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  an  administratively  organic  body  out  of 
the  scattered  convents,  with  a  constitution,  a 
superior-general,  and  provincial  superiors  for  the 
various  countries.  The  action  of  the  Holy  See 
was  based  upon  the  conviction  that  the  houses  of 
the  Order,  as  anciently  constituted,  "being  auton- 
omous, could  neither  lend  one  another  help  and 
assistance,  nor  yet  spur  themselves  on  to  higher 
and  better  things,  by  reciprocal  rivalry."63  A  large 
number  of  convents  joined  the  union,  although 
many  have  thus  far  remained  outside  of  it.  In 
the  United  States  the  united  convents  are  divided 
into  two  provinces,  the  Southern,  with  its  center 
at  San  Antonio,  and  the  Northern,  with  its 
provincial-house  at  Middletown,  N.  Y. 

The  Ursuline  Order  is  exclusively  devoted  to 
teaching.  The  total  number  of  members  in  the 
United  States  in  1910  was  1932,  of  whom  about 

61  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  pp.  443,  444, 

82  Cath.  Dir.,  1908. 

63  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  441. 


58     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

two-thirds  belonged  to  independent  convents.  The 
total  number  of  pupils  was  about  17,000." 


SISTERS   OF  THE  MOST  PRECIOUS  BLOOD 

(Sanguinist    Sisters)    (1844) 

The  Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood,  like  the 
Redemptorists,  did  a  great  work  for  the  Church 
in  ministering  to  the  German  immigrants  who 
were  pouring  into  the  Middle  West  during  this 
period.  German  Catholics  demanded  Catholic 
and  German  schools,  and  it  was  to  meet  this 
demand,  which  was  being  heard  from  German 
settlements  through  Ohio  and  Indiana,  that  the 
Rev.  Francis  S.  Brunner,  Provincial  of  the  San- 
guinist Fathers,  brought  a  colony  of  six  Sisters 
from  Switzerland  to  New  Riegel,  Seneca  County, 
Ohio,  in  the  year  1844.  Their  first  convent  was 
a  loghouse,  most  primitively  furnished;  but  the 
Sisters  had  come  prepared  for  hardship,  and  they 
bravely  set  to  work,  some  to  clear  and  till  the 
land,  so  as  to  provide  the  necessaries  of  life, 
others  to  teach  in  the  neighboring  parish  school 
or  in  the  school  which  they  began  at  their  log- 
convent  along  with  a  novitiate.65 

The  self-sacrificing  labors  of  the  Sisters 
appealed  to  the  sturdy  German  immigrants  and 
their  children.  The  novitiate  grew,  new  schools 
were  opened,  and  new  convents  formed.  The 
earliest  of  these  was  at  Thompson,  in  the  same 
county,  in  1845,  the  first  convent  building  being 
built  of  logs.  This  convent,  as  also  that  estab- 

64  Cath.  Dir. 

MHouck,  Hist,  of  Catholicity  in  Northern  Ohio,  p.  759- 


Sisters  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood  59 

lished  at  Glandorf,  Putnam  County,  four  years 
later,  became  one  of  the  centers  of  the  school 
work  of  the  Order.66  The  mother-house  and 
novitiate  of  the  community  was  established  per- 
manently at  Maria  Stein,  in  Mercer  County.  Out- 
side of  Ohio,  the  Sisters  took  charge  of  a  number 
of  schools  in  the  Diocese  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  of 
several  in  dioceses  still  farther  west.67 

An  independent  branch  of  the  same  Order  de- 
veloped from  the  coming  of  a  band  of  the  Sisters 
from  Gurtweil,  Bavaria,  in  1869,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  convent  and  novitiate  at  Piopolis, 
111.,  in  the  Diocese  of  Alton.  As  with  the  Ohio 
branch,  the  principal  theater  of  their  school  work 
has  been  the  State  in  which  their  first  foundation 
was  made.  Some  schools,  however,  have  been 
taken  up  in  States  across  the  Mississippi,  the 
greater  number  of  these  being  in  the  Diocese  of 
Wichita.  In  1876  the  mother-house  was  trans- 
ferred from  Piopolis  to  Ruma,  111.08 

A  third  independent  branch  of  the  Order  was 
established  when  a  large  band  of  the  Sisters, 
driven  from  Gurtweil  by  the  Kulturkampf,  arrived 
at  St.  Louis.  The  mother-house  and  novitiate 
were  fixed  at  O'Fallon,  Mo.,  which  has  become 
the  center  of  a  series  of  parish  schools  conducted 
by  the  Sisters,  mostly  in  the  Archdiocese  of  St. 
Louis.09 

The  educational  work  of  the  order  is  done 
chiefly  in  parish  schools.  In  1910  there  were 
1043  Sisters,  divided  as  follows:  Maria  Stein 

66  Houck,  Hist,  of  Catholicity  in  Northern  Ohio,pp.  760, 757. 
07  Cath.  Dir. ;   The  Diocese  of  Ft.  Wayne,  p.  468. 
68Cath.  Dir.;    The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  411. 
89  Ib. 


60     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

Community,     662;      Ruma  Community,      180; 

O'Fallon  Community,  201.  The  total  number  of 

pupils    in    charge    of    the  three    branches  was 
n,928.70 


SISTERS-SERVANTS    OF    THE    IMMACULATE 
HEART    OF    MARY    (1845) 

Monroe,  Mich.,  where  Father  Richard  had 
sown  the  seed  of  Catholic  education  by  teaching 
school  himself,  was  the  birthplace  of  this  com- 
munity.71 The  successors  of  Father  Richard  had 
tried  to  keep  up  the  school,  and  by  the  year  1830 
an  academy  for  young  ladies  had  been  started.72 
The  Redemptorists,  who  took  charge  of  the  parish 
some  ten  years  later,  labored  to  improve  the 
school,  while  endeavoring  to  secure  Sisters.  In 
1845  two  Sisters  of  Providence  came  from  Balti- 
more, and,  being  joined  by  several  of  the  young 
ladies  who  had  been  teaching,  a  religious  com- 
munity was  formed  under  the  direction  of  the 
pastor,  Father  Gillet,  with  the  approval  of  Bishop 
Lefevre.  Their  first  home  was  the  old  log  school- 
house.  The  next  year,  however,  a  large  frame 
building  was  erected  for  an  academy,  the  attend- 
ance having  grown  to  twenty  boarders  and  140 
day  scholars.  Father  Joos,  who  became  pastor  in 
1857,  wrote  the  constitution  and  revised  the  rules 
of  the  community.73 

70Cath.  Dir.,  1910. 

71  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  187 ;  Le  Pere  Juste, 
by  Very  Rev.  Dean  O'Brien,  Kalamazoo,  p.  33. 

72  Cath.  School  System,  p.  341. 

73  Le  Pere  Juste,  p.  34  seq. ;  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of 
A.,  Sisters-Servants  of  the  I.  H. 


Sisters-Servants  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary    61 

In  1858  Bishop  Neumann,  of  Philadelphia, 
called  the  Sisters  to  his  diocese.  Their  first  foun- 
dation was  an  academy  at  St.  Joseph's,  Susque- 
hanna  County,  near  Scranton.  A  year  later  an 
academy  was  opened  at  Reading.  Each  of  these 
foundations  has  had  an  important  development. 
The  Sisters  in  the  Diocese  of  Philadelphia,  soon 
after  their  arrival,  were  formed  into  an  inde- 
pendent community,  while  in  1871  those  in  the 
newly  created  Diocese  of  Scranton  were  also 
organized  by  Bishop  O'Hara  independently. 

The  Scranton  community  opened  a  second 
academy  and  school  at  Susquehanna  in  1861.  This 
institution  served  as  the  central  establishment  until 
a  new  mother-house,  together  with  an  academy 
and  school,  was  erected  in  Scranton  in  1872.  Sev- 
eral years  later,  the  novitiate  and  training-school 
was  removed  to  Carbondale.  In  1902  a  mag- 
nificent new  mother-house  and  academy  was  com- 
pleted at  Scranton,  at  a  cost  of  $200,000.  As  the 
community  grew  schools  were  opened  in  the  city 
and  diocese  and  even,  in  more  recent  years,  in 
such  distant  States  as  Oregon,  Idaho,  and  Wash- 
ington. 

The  community  in  the  Philadelphia  Diocese 
developed  no  less  vigorously.  A  military  academy 
at  West  Chester  was  purchased,  and  here  the 
mother-house  was  established,  under  the  title, 
"Villa  Maria."  Hither  also  the  academy  at 
Reading  was  removed,  and  with  the  new  buildings 
erected  and  the  extensive  additions  and  improve- 
ments, a  large  and  finely  appointed  institution  for 
the  education  of  girls  as  well  as  for  the  training 
of  Sisters  has  been  built  up.  The  work  of  the 


62     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

community  has  been  confined  to  the  Archdiocese 
of  Philadelphia  and  the  Diocese  of  Harrisburg. 
They  have  had  a  prominent  part  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  school  system  of  the  Archdiocese,  and 
at  the  present  writing  they  have  charge  of  34  of 
its  142  parish  schools.74 

The  parent-community  at  Monroe,  although 
badly  crippled  by  the  loss  of  the  Sisters  who 
joined  the  eastern  branches  when  the  separation 
occurred — only  eleven  Sisters  remained  in  the 
West — gradually  recovered  its  strength,  under  the 
wise  government  of  Mother  Mary  Joseph  and 
the  zealous  aid  and  direction  of  Father  Joos.  A 
new  building  was  erected,  as  the  attendance  at  the 
academy  increased  and  new  vocations  came. 
Under  Bishop  Borgess  a  normal  school  for  the 
better  training  of  the  Sisters  was  established  at 
Monroe,  and  through  his  influence  each  parish 
school  was  brought  into  touch  with  the  academy. 
A  fine  new  academy  building  has  lately  been 
erected.75  The  work  of  the  community  has  been 
confined  chiefly  to  the  Diocese  of  Detroit,  where 
they  have  had  charge  of  a  steadily  increasing 
number  of  parish  schools. 

The  number  of  Sisters  in  the  parent  community 
in  1910  was  368;  in  the  Philadelphia  community, 
481;  and  in  that  of  the  Scranton  Diocese,  365. 
Together,  the  three  communities  have  charge  of 
upwards  of  35,000  pupils.70 

74  Cath.  Directory;   Hist,  of  the  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A., 
I,  p.  430-433;    Hist.  Sketches  of  the  Cath.  Churches  and  Insts. 
of  Phila.,  p.  204;    Rep.  of  Supt.  of  Par.  Schools  of  Phila,  1910. 

75  Le  Pcre  Jeste,  p.  40  seq. 

78  Cath.  Dir. ;    Hist.  Sketches,  etc.,  loc.  cit. 


CHAPTER  III 

TEACHERS    AND  TEACHING    COMMUNITIES    IN 
THE   IMMIGRATION   PERIOD  (CONTINUED) 

SISTERS    OF    CHARITY    OF    MT.    ST.  VINCENT,  N.  Y. 
(1846) 

THE  RELIGIOUS  community  founded  by  Mother 
Seton  would  undoubtedly  have  grown  to  be  the 
largest  and  most  influential  of  the  teaching  sister- 
hoods in  the  United  States,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
splitting  up  of  the  parent  organization  into  a 
number  of  independent  communities.1  Bishop 
Hughes  was  strongly  convinced  that  it  would  be 
for  the  best  if  the  Sisters  of  the  order  in  New 
York  were  organized  as  a  separate  body,  with  the 
rules  of  the  original  community;  and  in  the  year 
1846  the  bishop's  wishes  were  acceded  to  through 
an  amicable  agreement  with  the  superiors  in 
Maryland.  Begun  in  1817,  the  work  of  the  Sis- 
ters in  New  York  had  gradually  developed  until, 
at  the  above  date,  the  diocese  counted  forty-five 
Sisters,  with  two  academies — one  in  Oliver  Street 
and  another  on  East  Broadway — and  a  number 
of  parish  schools  and  orphan  asylums.  Thirty- 
five  Sisters  chose  to  remain  to  form  the  new  com- 

1  For  the  causes  which  led  to  this  result  in  the  case  of  the 
Emmittsburg  sisterhood,  as  well  as  of  other  communities,  cf. 
"  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,"  pp.  219,  220. 

63 


64     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

munity,  and  Sister  Elizabeth  Boyle  was  chosen  as 
the  first  superior.2  One  of  the  early  companions 
of  Mother  Seton,  Sister  Elizabeth  had  been  for 
three  terms  assistant-mother  and  for  many  years 
mistress  of  novices  at  Emmittsburg.3  Her  first 
act  was  to  open  a  novitiate  in  the  establishment  on 
East  Broadway,  but  in  the  following  year  the 
novitiate  and  mother-house  were  removed  to  an 
estate  which  was  purchased  at  McGown's  Pass, 
at  One  Hundred  and  Ninth  Street  and  Fifth 
Avenue,  within  the  present  limits  of  Central  Park, 
where,  at  the  same  time,  the  Academy  of  Mount 
St.  Vincent  was  also  opened.4  In  1857  the 
academy  and  mother-house  were  removed  to  a 
picturesque  site  known  as  Fonthill,  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Hudson,  fourteen  miles  above  the  city. 
Meanwhile  changes  had  occurred  in  the  admin- 
istration, Sister  Elizabeth  being  succeeded  by 
Mother  Jerome  Ely.  Mother  Angela  Hughes,  a 
sister  of  the  great  archbishop,  was  also  for  a 
time  the  head  of  the  administration.  Each  of 
these  three  women  contributed  much,  by  sagacious 
and  far-seeing  direction  as  well  as  by  energetic 
personal  service,  to  the  development  of  the  com- 
munity during  its  formative  period;  but  Mother 
Jerome  was  the  predominant  influence  in  shaping 
its  early  history,  by  reason  both  of  superior  quali- 

2  When  the   Emmittsburg  community   was  affiliated  to  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  in  France,  the  rules,  dress,  and  customs  of 
the  original  society  established  by  St.  Vincent  de   Paul  were 
adopted  by  the  American  branch.    The  New  York  community, 
on    the   other   hand,    retained   the    rules,    dress,    and    customs 
inaugurated  by  Mother  Seton. — Sadlier,  Elizabeth  Seton,  p.  282. 

3  Brunowe,  A  Famous  Convent  School,  p.  30. 

Mb.,   p.  32;    Cath.  Encyclopedia,   III,  p.  608;    Shea,   Hist. 
Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.,  IV,  p.  no. 


Sisters  of  Charity  of  Mt.  St.  Vincent,  N.  Y.       65 

ties  of  leadership  and  length  of  service.  Entering 
the  order  in  the  year  1827,  at  the  age  of  sixteen, 
she  was  for  over  fifty  years  prominent  in  Catholic 
educational  work  in  New  York.  A  woman  of 
quiet  self-possession,  she  was,  nevertheless,  active 
and  energetic  and  of  unfailing  resourcefulness  in 
emergencies.5  Under  her  prudent  initiative  new 
buildings  were  erected,  the  membership  of  the 
community  was  multiplied,  and  schools,  orphan- 
ages, asylums,  and  hospitals  were  opened  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  city  and  State  as  well  as  in  neigh- 
boring States. 

The  immense  and  rapid  growth  of  the  metrop- 
olis, following  soon  after  the  organization  of  the 
community,  offered  an  ample  field  for  the  educa- 
tional activity  of  the  order,  and  schools  were 
opened  in  quick  succession  under  the  vigorous 
educational  policy  of  Bishop  Hughes.  For  many 
years  the  Sisters  of  Charity  were  almost  exclu- 
sively in  charge  of  Catholic  female  education  in 
New  York,  and  even  with  the  multiplication  of 
teaching  orders  in  the  city  within  recent  decades, 
they  have  always  remained  the  chief  educational 
agency  of  the  diocese  in  elementary  school  work. 
While  endeavoring  to  meet  the  ever  growing  de- 
mand for  teachers  in  the  metropolis,  the  com- 
munity was  also  able  to  extend  its  energies  in  other 
directions.  Schools  were  opened  in  Brooklyn  and 
New  Jersey,  as  well  as  in  the  Diocese  of  Harris- 
burg.  The  schools  in  New  Jersey,  as  we  shall 
see,  led  to  the  formation  of  a  separate  branch  of 
the  community,  while  the  establishment  founded 
by  a  little  band  of  the  Sisters  at  Halifax,  Nova 

*  Brunowe,  op.  cit^  p-.  94. 


66     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

Scotia,  in  1849,  likewise  developed  into  an  inde- 
pendent order.  In  1910  the  Mt.  St.  Vincent  com- 
munity counted  1400  Sisters,  in  charge  of  20 
academies,  6  high  schools,  an  industrial  school,  5 
orphan  asylums,  and  77  parish  schools,  with  over 
50,000  pupils  in  all.6 

SISTERS  OF  CHARITY,  OF  CINCINNATI,  OHIO 

MOTHER   MARGARET   GEORGE 

When  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Emmittsburg 
affiliated  with  the  Daughters  of  Charity  in  France, 
Sister  Margaret  George  was  the  superior  of  the 
Sisters  in  Cincinnati,  where  they  had  charge  of 
two  schools  and  two  orphanages,  the  first  Sisters 
having  been  brought  there  by  Bishop  Fenwick  in 
i829.7  Sister  Margaret  had  entered  Emmittsburg 
in  1812,  and  was  one  of  the  original  incorporators 
of  the  community.  She  stood  very  close  to 
Mother  Seton,  occupying  the  position  of  secretary 
and  treasurer,  and  teaching  in  the  academy.  The 
proposed  change  of  rules  and  constitutions,  tra- 
ditions and  costume,  was  distasteful  to  Sister  Mar- 
garet as  well  as  to  her  companions,  and,  with  the 
concurrence  of  Bishop  Purcell,  it  was  arranged 
that  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  Cincinnati  should 
continue  as  before,  but  independent  of  Emmitts- 
burg, and  under  the  authority  of  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese.  The  Sisters  have  thus  retained  all  the 
essential  characteristics  of  the  religious  organiza- 
tion of  which  Mother  Seton  was  the  saintly 
foundress.8 

"Cath.  Enc.,  Inc.  cit. ;    Cath.  Dir. 

7  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  330. 

8  Mother  Seton,  pp.  46,  54,  64  seq. 


Sisters  of  Chanty,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio  67 

The  Sisters  in  Cincinnati  at  this  time  numbered 
seven.  A  novitiate  was  soon  opened,  however, 
and  twenty  candidates  presented  themselves  dur- 
ing the  first  year.  As  the  community  grew  in 
numbers  its  work  was  pushed  on  vigorously  and 
extended.  The  mother-house  was  transferred  to 
a  beautiful  property  outside  the  city,  where  the 
Cedar  Grove  Academy  was  opened.  In  1869  the 
mother-house  was  finally  located  at  Mt.  St. 
Joseph,  on  the  Ohio,  where  the  chief  academic 
institution  conducted  by  the  community  was  de- 
veloped. During  the  period  of  these  changes, 
which  had  in  view  the  strengthening  and  perfect- 
ing of  the  central  establishment,  the  work  of  the 
community  was  gradually  expanding.  Beginning 
with  1853  schools  were  opened  in  one  parish  after 
another  in  Cincinnati  and  the  diocese,  the  average 
being  one  new  school  a  year.9 

The  Civil  War  brought  this  academic  develop- 
ment to  a  sudden  stop.  The  Sisters  were  among 
the  first  to  answer  the  call  for  nurses;  and  from 
May,  1861,  to  the  close  of  the  war,  many  of  them 
left  behind  their  school-rooms,  to  care  for  the 
stricken  defenders  of  the  nation,  in  the  military 
hospitals  and  camps.  Like  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  the  Sisters  of  Charity  glory  in  having  sac- 
rificed for  the  time  being  their  most  precious 
temporal  interests  at  the  call  of  patriotism.10 

After  the  war,  however,  the  extension  and  con- 
solidation of  the  work  of  the  community  pro- 
ceeded very  rapidly.  The  most  notable  among 

"Records  of  the  mother-house;  Cath.  Telegraph,  July  15, 
1909.  Mother  Margaret  George,  a  Brief  Biographical  Sketch. 
(1911). 

10  Cath.  Tel.,  loc.  cit. 


68     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

the  many  branch-houses  established  during  this 
period  was  that  at  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  where  the 
Sisters  went  in  1865  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the 
great  educational  work  undertaken  by  Bishop 
Lamy  and  Father  Machebeuf.11  In  1870  another 
group  of  Sisters  began  the  work  of  the  community 
in  Colorado.  Several  schools  were  opened  in 
Tennessee,  while  in  Michigan  a  series  of  flourish- 
ing schools  has  also  been  developed.  The  Sisters 
were  among  the  pioneers  in  the  Catholic  high 
school  movement,  having  opened  a  parish  high 
school  at  Bay  City,  Mich.,  as  early  as  i873.12 

The  Sisters  exercised  an  important  influence  in 
the  formation  of  the  new  community  of  the  Sisters 
of  Charity  in  New  Jersey,  under  Bishop  Bailey.13 
In  1870  they  helped  to  found  another  important 
branch  of  the  order  at  Pittsburgh  by  training  a 
number  of  candidates  Bishop  Domenec  sent  them 
for  the  purpose,  and  also  by  sending  two  able 
Sisters  to  remain  permanently  with  the  new  com- 
munity— Mother  Aloysia  Lowe,  who  was  made 
superior,  and  Sister  Ann  Regina  Ennis,  mistress 
of  novices.  The  mother-house  and  principal 
academy  of  this  branch  is  now  at  Greensburg,  Pa., 
and  the  community  numbers  over  300  Sisters.14 

Mother  Margaret  was  a  woman  of  scholarly 
tastes,  and  a  writer  as  well  as  a  linguist.  During 
the  two  terms  of  office  allowed  her  by  the  con- 
stitution she  labored  to  imbue  the  teachers  with 
her  own  pedagogic  and  academic  ideals  while,  at 

11  See  "  New  Mexico,"  in  chapter  on  "  Far  Western  States." 

12  Cath.  Tel,  loc.  cit. 

13  See    following  pages,    Sisters   of    Charity,    Convent    Sta- 
tion, N.  J. 

14  Cath.  Dir. 


Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Convent  Station,  N.  J.      69 

the  same  time,  as  a  wise  and  devoted  superior,  she 
sought  earnestly  to  perfect  them  in  the  religious 
life.  At  the  time  of  her  death,  in  1869,  she  was 
the  last  of  the  original  Emmittsburg  band.  She 
was  succeeded  as  superior  by  Mother  Josephine 
Harvey,  who  in  turn  was  replaced  by  Mother 
Regina  Mattingly,  both  of  these  Sisters  having 
been  among  the  founders  of  the  Cincinnati  com- 
munity. 

Mother  Margaret  left  a  lasting  monument  of 
her  life  and  labors  in  the  tradition  of  intellectual 
thoroughness  which  she  established  in  the  com- 
munity. It  is  this  spirit  which  has  characterized 
the  work  of  the  Sisters  in  the  parish  schools,  and 
achieved  for  them  a  general  recognition  as  skilful 
as  well  as  devoted  religious  teachers.15 

In  1910  there  were  about  700  Sisters,  with 
22,000  pupils  in  their  schools. 

SISTERS  OF  CHARITY,  OF  CONVENT  STATION,  N.  J. 
MOTHER  MARY  XAVIER  MEHEGAN    (1859) 

When  Bishop  Bayley  took  possession  of  the 
newly  erected  See  of  Newark  in  1853,  he  found 
parochial  schools  in  charge  of  lay  teachers  in  most 
of  the  larger  parishes,  but  only  two  schools — one 
at  Newark  and  the  other  at  Jersey  City — under 
the  direction  of  religious.  These  were  Sisters  of 
Charity  from  Mt.  St.  Vincent's,  New  York.  After 
some  negotiations  the  bishop  obtained  the  consent 
of  the  superiors  of  the  community  to  organize  an 
independent  branch  of  the  order  for  his  diocese. 
Mother  Mary  Xavier  Mehegan,  who  was  at  the 
16  Records  of  the  mother-house ;  Mother  Seton ;  Cath.  Tel. 


70     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

time  in  charge  of  the  Newark  establishment,  was 
selected  as  the  superior.  Five  young  ladies  who 
had  applied  for  admission  were  sent  to  Cincinnati 
to  be  trained  in  the  novitiate  of  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  there,  and  upon  their  return  the  Sisters 
from  Mt.  St.  Vincent's  were  withdrawn,  with  the 
exception  of  Mother  Mary  Xavier  and  Sister 
Mary  Catherine  Nevin.  The  new  community 
was  thus  formally  constituted  Sept.  29,  1859,  with 
the  establishment  of  St.  Mary's,  Newark,  as  the 
mother-house.16 

The  progress  of  the  new  institute  was  rapid 
and  steady.  In  the  following  year  the  mother- 
house  was  removed  to  Madison,  and  an  academy 
opened.  In  1880  both  were  removed  to  their 
present  location  at  Convent  Station,  near  Morris- 
town.  The  academy — known  as  St.  Elizabeth's — 
has  always  occupied  a  front  rank  among  Catholic 
girls'  schools.  Its  rapid  development  was 
largely  due  to  the  energy  and  intellectual 
ability  of  Sister  Mary  Agnes  O'Neill,  who 
presided  over  it  for  a  period  of  nearly 
twenty  years,  acting,  at  the  same  time,  as 
assistant  to  the  mother-general.  Another  lifelong 
assistant,  to  whom  the  community  was  greatly 
indebted,  was  Sister  Mary  Catherine.  But  it  is 
to  the  prudence,  piety,  and  business  ability  of 
Mother  Mary  Xavier,  that  the  rapid  progress 
and  almost  uninterrupted  prosperity  of  the  com- 
munity is,  under  God,  to  be  ascribed.  A  woman 
of  remarkable  simplicity  of  character,  combining 

1"The  habit  and  constitutions  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of 
Mt.  St.  Vincent's  were  retained  by  the  new  sisterhood.  In 
1874,  however,  the  black  cap  originally  adopted  by  Mother 
Seton  was  replaced  by  a  white  one  with  a  black  veil. 


Mother  Caroline  and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame       7 1 

gentleness  with  firmness,  and  an  heroic  faith  with 
a  native  shrewdness  in  practical  affairs,  Mother 
Mary  Xavier  merits  a  high  place  among  the  dis- 
tinguished Daughters  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in 
America.  Her  policy  has  made  for  the  training 
of  the  teacher  along  the  most  modern  and  efficient 
pedagogical  lines,  while  holding  fast  to  the  relig- 
ious spirit  and  traditions  which  are  essential  to  the 
really  Catholic  school.  The  development  of  the 
community  has  consequently  been  marked  by  a  cor- 
responding growth  in  efficiency  of  the  parish 
schools  throughout  New  Jersey.17  Schools  were 
also  gradually  taken  up  by  the  Sisters  in  other 
States,  notably  in  the  dioceses  of  Hartford  and 
Harrisburg,  and  in  the  Archdioceses  of  New  York 
and  Boston.  In  the  year  1910,  there  were  1150 
Sisters  in  the  community,  in  charge  of  I  college,  6 
academies,  and  80  parish  schools,  with  upwards 
of  40,000  pupils.18 

MOTHER  CAROLINE   FRIESS SCHOOL  SISTERS 

OF    NOTRE    DAME     (1847) 

It  was  in  response  to  the  need  of  teachers  for 
the  parish  schools  which  were  being  organized  for 
Catholic  German  immigrants  that  the  first  School 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  came  to  the  United  States. 
The  Redemptorist  Fathers  were  specially  devoted 
to  work  among  the  Germans,  and  it  was  through 
their  influence  that  the  authorities  of  the  Order  at 
its  mother-house  in  Munich,  Bavaria,  sent  out 

"The  venerable  foundress,  in  1909,  attained  the  eighty- 
fourth  year  of  her  age. 

"Cath.  Directory,  1908;  Cath.  Enc.,  Ill,  p.  608;  Flynn,  The 
Cath.  Church  in  New  Jersey,  p.  587  seq. 


72     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

the  first  colony,  consisting  of  six  Sisters,  the  party 
arriving  at  New  York,  July  31,  1847.  Only  a 
few  years  had  elapsed  since  the  re-establishment 
of  the  Order  in  Europe,  and  it  was  still  in  a  weak 
and  struggling  condition.  The  little  colony  sent 
to  America  had  no  better  prospect,  humanly 
speaking,  than  any  of  the  other  religious  colonies 
which  arrived  here  during  this  period.  Its  ma- 
terial resources  were  of  the  scantiest — amounting 
practically  to  no  more  than  money  enough  to  meet 
the  expenses  of  the  journey.  Its  members  spoke 
only  their  native  tongue,  and  were  almost  wholly 
unacquainted  with  the  character  and  institutions 
of  the  land  whose  youth  they  came  to  teach.  To 
add  to  their  difficulties,  the  school  they  had 
engaged  to  take  charge  of,  according  to  the  agree- 
ment of  the  superiors  with  Bishop  O'Connor,  of 
Pittsburgh,  was  at  a  newly  formed  Catholic  Ger- 
man settlement  called  St.  Mary's,  in  the  wilds  of 
western  Pennsylvania.  The  journey  was  by  stage 
from  Baltimore,  and  such  were  the  hardships  to 
which  they  were  exposed  that  one  of  the  Sisters 
died  on  the  way.19 

In  the  little  colony,  however,  was  a  young  Sis- 
ter whose  name  in  the  world  had  been  Caroline 
Friess.  Of  German  and  French  parentage,  and 
combining  in  her  character,  as  an  eloquent  eulo- 
gist has  said,  "the  vivacity,  the  ardor,  the  quick- 
ness and  daring  of  the  French  with  the  steadfast- 
ness, the  honesty,  the  perseverance  and  simplicity 
of  the  German,"  Sister  Caroline  Friess, 
although  only  twenty-three  at  the  time,  was  a 

19  Abbelen,  Mother  Caroline  Friess,  p.  80  seq. 

*°  Rt.  Rev.  John  Lancaster  Spalding,  in  ib.,  Introduction. 


Mother  Caroline  and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame       73 

woman  who  seemed  to  be  providentially  fitted  to 
grapple  with  the  difficulties  that  beset  the  infant 
community  on  every  side.  Quick  to  see  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  moment,  and  as  quick  to  act,  gifted 
with  indomitable  courage  and  resolution,  she  was 
one  of  those  rare  souls  who  unite  in  their  natures 
the  highest  intuitions  of  the  spiritual  order  with 
a  genius  for  the  practical.  The  school  Sisters 
would  doubtless  have  prospered  in  America,  even 
without  Sister  Caroline.  They  were  needed,  and 
the  elements  of  growth  were  richly  provided  for 
by  place  and  time.  But  the  numerical  pre-emi- 
nence to  which  the  community  attained  in  Catholic 
school  work,  in  spite  of  its  untoward  beginnings, 
was  due  neither  to  circumstances  nor  to  extraneous 
aid:  its  history  for  the  succeeding  forty  years  is 
practically  only  the  story  of  her  life  and  work. 

Although  only  twenty-three  at  the  time  of  her 
arrival,  Sister  Caroline  was,  three  years  later, 
made  superioress.  Schools  were  opened,  soon 
after  their  arrival,  in  the  Redemptorist  parishes 
in  Baltimore.  More  Sisters  came  from  Munich, 
and  the  work  was  quickly  extended  to  Pittsburgh, 
Philadelphia,  and  Buffalo — a  striking  instance  of 
the  unifying  influence  the  religious  orders  have 
had  upon  the  Catholic  school  system,  as  against 
the  tendency  towards  particularism  set  up  by  terri- 
torial barriers.  Sister  Caroline  foresaw  that  the 
community  rule  of  enclosure  would  lead  to  diffi- 
culties in  the  carrying  on  of  school  work,  and 
succeeded,  by  a  journey  to  Europe  in  the  year 
1850,  in  securing  a  modification  of  this  feature. 
Another  step  of  importance  was  taken  when,  on 
her  return,  she  proceeded  to  Milwaukee,  and 


74     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

definitely  established  the  mother-house  of  the 
community  there.  Bishop  Henni,  upon  whose 
invitation  this  change  was  made,  was  eager  for 
the  establishment  of  Catholic  schools,  and,  to- 
gether with  his  clergy,  co-operated  with  Mother 
Caroline  in  the  work  of  building  up  a  strong  cen- 
tral establishment  in  his  episcopal  city. 

From  this  time  on  the  growth  of  the  community 
was  as  rapid  as  it  was  solid  and  widespread  in  its 
influence.  Mother  Caroline  became  a  true  Ameri- 
can, and  her  policy  and  sympathies  were  as  broad 
as  the  nation.  Although  feeling  that  the  Sisters 
had  been  called  to  this  country  to  labor  among 
the  Germans,  she  welcomed  candidates  for  the 
sisterhood  from  all  nationalities,  and,  in  the  course 
of  time,  she  took  schools  among  the  Poles  and 
Bohemians  as  well  as  among  English-speaking 
Catholics.21  She  aimed  at  the  establishment  of 
parish  schools,  rather  than  boarding-schools  or 
academies,  and,  in  this  respect  likewise,  the  tra- 
dition she  established  has  been  adhered  to.  One 
of  the  chief  factors  in  the  success  of  the  com- 
munity has  been  the  thoroughness  of  the  training 
in  the  normal  school  and  novitiate,  no  effort  being 
spared  to  give  the  candidates  the  benefit  of  the 
most  experienced  teaching  and  of  the  most 
efficient  courses  of  instruction  in  the  science  and 
art  of  pedagogy. 

In  1876  the  community  had  become  so  large 
as  to  make  advisable  a  division  of  the  administra- 
tion, and  the  eastern  houses  were  erected  into  a 
separate  province,  with  the  Baltimore  convent  as 
the  mother-house.  A  third  province,  consisting 
11  See  chapter  on  Schools  of  the  Foreign  Nationalities. 


Sisters  of  St.  Dominic  (Sinsinawa,  Wis.)         75 

of  the  southern  houses,  was  formed  in  1897,  with 
the  mother-house  near  St.  Louis.  At  the  time  of 
Mother  Caroline's  death,  in  1891,  there  were 
over  2000  Sisters,  with  nearly  70,000  pupils  and 
1500  orphans.  By  the  year  1910,  the  Sisters  had 
increased  to  3786,  the  pupils  to  102,622,  and  the 
branch-houses  to  274.22 

SISTERS  OF  ST.   DOMINIC    ( SINSINAWA,   WIS.) 
(1847) 

The  beginnings  of  this  teaching  community, 
which  has  had  such  an  important  educational  influ- 
ence in  the  Middle  West,  date  back  to  the  pioneer 
labors  of  the  Dominican  missionary,  Father  Maz- 
zuchelli,  who  conceived  the  idea  of  founding  a 
community  of  Dominican  Sisters  for  the  education 
of  girls  in  elementary  schools  and  academies.23 
In  1844  ne  purchased  an  estate  of  800  acres  at 
Sinsinawa  Mound  for  $6500,  the  money  being 
procured  mainly  from  Italy.24  A  college  for  boys 
was  established;  and  on  December  26,  1847,  two 
young  ladies,  Miss  Mary  Fitzpatrick  and  Miss 
Margaret  Conway,  were  admitted  as  novices  for 
the  projected  sisterhood,  receiving  the  names  of 
Sister  Ignatia  and  Sister  Clara.  Before  the  end 
of  the  year  two  more  novices  were  admitted,  Miss 
Judith  Cahill  (Sister  Josephine)  and  Miss  Ellen 
Conway  (Sister  Rachel).  The  little  community 
was  now  given  an  organization,  and  Sister  Clara 
appointed  prioress.  On  August  15,  1849,  the  four 

"Op.  cit.,  p.  159;    Cath.  Directory,  1910. 

"  Cf.  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,  pp.  246,  339. 

24  Golden  Bells  in  Convent  Towers,  p.  56. 


76     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

novices  were  admitted  to  the  religious  profession. 
Such  was  the  humble  commencement  of  the  work. 
In  1852  Father  Mazzuchelli,  having  resigned  the 
charge  of  the  college,  returned  to  his  parish  at 
Benton,  Wis.,  where  he  provided  a  home  for  the 
Sisters,  and  where,  the  following  year,  they 
opened  St.  Clara's  Academy.  Four  Sisters  came 
from  the  Dominican  Convent  at  Somerset,  Ohio, 
to  instruct  the  infant  community  in  the  rules  and 
spirit  of  the  Dominican  Order;  but  only  one  of 
the  four,  Sister  Joanna,  remained.  Soon  after 
she  was  elected  prioress,  an  office  which  she  con- 
tinued to  hold  until  her  death  in  1864. 

The  years  1852-1864  were  the  formative 
period  for  the  community.  From  Father  Maz- 
zuchelli it  took  its  ideals,  and  also  its  religious 
life  and  spirit.  The  great  missioner,  who  had  for 
twenty  years  and  more  been  building  pioneer 
churches  and  schools  throughout  Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
and  Minnesota,  saw  that  he  could  give  perma- 
nency to  his  educational  work  only  by  means  of  a 
stable  organization  of  teachers.  At  Benton, 
accordingly,  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  work  of 
forming  this  teaching  body.  A  brilliant  scholar, 
he  taught  the  Sisters  mathematics  and  the  natural 
sciences,  besides  Latin,  French,  and  Italian.  It 
is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  read  that  the 
standard  of  teaching  in  the  little  academy  at  Ben- 
ton  was  high,  and  that,  by  1860,  there  was  not 
room  in  the  small  frame  convent  for  all  the  pupils 
who  applied  for  admission. 

Under  Father  Mazzuchelli's  direction  work 
was  progressing  on  a  new  and  larger  building  of 
stone,  when  the  year  1864  ushered  in  a  period  of 


Sisters  of  St.  Dominic  (Sinsinawa,  Wis.)         77 

misfortunes  and  trials  which  only  the  strong  relig- 
ious spirit  implanted  by  the  founder  enabled  the 
community  to  survive.  The  venerable  priest  died 
in  February.  One  after  another  the  Sisters  who 
were  the  leaders  in  the  community  were  stricken 
down.  Four  of  the  pupils  were  carried  off  by 
typhoid  fever,  and,  by  the  close  of  the  year  every- 
thing "seemed  to  be  tottering  helplessly  towards 
inevitable  ruin." 

The  community  was  saved,  however,  by  the 
spirit  of  the  Sisters.  Mother  Regina  Mulqueeny 
took  up  the  work  of  Father  Mazzuchelli  and 
Mother  Joanna,  and  upon  her  death,  two  years 
later,  Sister  Emily  Power,  at  the  time  sub-prioress, 
was  elected  superior.  One  of  the  new  superior's 
first  acts  was  to  purchase  the  property  of  the 
Dominican  Fathers  at  Sinsinawa,  negotiations  for 
which  had  been  begun  by  Mother  Regina.  St. 
Clara's  was  now  moved  to  Sinsinawa,  where,  the 
first  year,  the  attendance  numbered  one  hundred 
and  fifteen.  The  community,  too,  now  began  a 
period  of  rapid  and  healthy  growth.  Up  to  the 
time  of  the  founder's  death  there  had  been  only 
thirty-two  members,  while  during  the  first  decade 
at  Sinsinawa  eighty-five  new  members  were 
received,  and  sixteen  new  schools  opened  in  Wis- 
consin and  Illinois. 

Branch  establishments  of  the  Dominican  Sis- 
ters may  be  independent  of  the  mother-house, 
but  there  was  a  strong  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  new  foundations  to  continue  in  a  dependent 
relation  to  Sinsinawa.  In  1877  Mother  Emily 
journeyed  to  Rome,  where  she  succeeded  in  hav- 
ing the  mother-house  at  Sinsinawa  and  its  branch 


78      Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

houses,  in  various  dioceses  of  America,  consti- 
tuted as  a  united  body,  under  the  title  of  "The 
Dominican  Congregation  of  the  Most  Holy 
Rosary."  25 

The  second  decade  at  Sinsinawa  witnessed  the 
accession  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  new  mem- 
bers to  the  community  and  the  establishment  of 
many  parish  schools.  In  1888  the  constitutions 
were  approved  by  the  Holy  See.  In  considering 
the  growth  of  the  community  since  then,  the 
features  that  stand  out  more  prominently  are:  the 
constant  enlargement  and  advancement  of  the 
academy  at  the  mother-house,  which  culminated 
in  its  being  chartered  as  a  college  in  1901;  the 
opening  of  new  schools  and  academies,  especially 
throughout  the  Middle  West;  and  the  constant 
effort  to  raise  the  standard  of  scholarship  and  of 
practical  efficiency,  especially  by  the  systematic 
organization  of  summer-institute  work,  in  which 
the  community  was  one  of  the  pioneers.  Mother 
Emily  continued  as  superior  until  her  death,  in 
1909,  and  to  her  wisdom  and  prudence  in  gov- 
ernment, and,  above  all,  to  her  insistence  upon  the 
highest  pedagogical  standards  in  the  training  of 
teachers,  is  due  the  splendid  progress  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  high  rank  it  has  attained  among 
Catholic  teaching  orders  in  the  United  States. 

In  1910  there  were  800  Sisters,  i  college,  9 
academies,  45  parish  schools,  with  a  total  attend- 
ance of  17,000  pupils.26 

25  Golden  Bells  in  Convent  Towers,  p.  64  seq. ;  96;  Records 
of  the  mother-house. 
28Cath.  Dir.,  1910. 


Other  Sisterhoods  of  St.  Dominic  79 


OTHER  SISTERHOODS   OF  ST.   DOMINIC 

The  convents  of  the  Dominican  Sisters,  like 
those  of  the  Benedictines,  are  usually  independent. 
Several  new  convents  were  formed  from  the 
primal  American  Dominican  community  estab- 
lished in  Kentucky  in  1822,  or  from  its  Ohio  off- 
shoot of  a  little  later  date;27  many  others  have 
been  derived  from  colonies  of  Dominican  Sisters 
from  the  convent  at  Ratisbon,  who  came  to  this 
country  during  the  Immigration  Period  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching  the  children  of  the  German 
immigrants. 

One  of  these  colonies  settled  in  Brooklyn  in 
1853,  and  became  diocesan  in  organization.  It 
sent  a  group  of  Sisters  to  California  in  1876, 
where  an  important  series  of  establishments  grew 
up,  dependent  on  the  house  at  Mission  San  Jose. 
Another  group  from  Brooklyn  established  a  con- 
vent at  Great  Bend,  Kansas,  in  1902. 2S  The 
Brooklyn  community  numbered  560  Sisters  in  the 
year  1910. 

The  second  of  the  Ratisbon  colonies  established 
itself  in  New  York  in  1859.  From  this  founda- 
tion, as  it  developed,  schools  were  opened  in  a 
number  of  widely  separated  dioceses,  the  new 
establishments  preserving  a  relation  of  depend- 
ence to  the  New  York  house.  Several  of  the  new 
convents,  too,  became  independent  communities, 
with  mother-houses  respectively  at  Grand  Rapids, 
Mich.,  Blauvelt,  N.  Y.,  and  Jersey  City.  The 

=T  Cf.  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  243. 
"Cath.  Directory,  1908. 


8o     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

mother-house  of  the  New  York  community  is  at 
present  at  Newburg,  and  the  number  of  Sisters 

is  357-29 

The  third  Ratisbon  colony  settled  at  Racine, 
Wis.,  from  which  a  number  of  dependent  schools 
have  been  developed,  most  of  these  being  in  Wis- 
consin.30 

It  was  through  the  personal  influence  of  Abbot 
Wimmer,  founder  of  St.  Vincent's,  Pa.,  that  the 
first  Sisters  from  Ratisbon  were  induced  to  cross 
the  ocean.  The  foundress  and  first  superior  of 
the  Brooklyn  establishment  was  Mother  Josepha 
Witzelhofer,  but  it  was  to  Mother  Seraphina 
Staimer,  who  succeeded  the  former  in  1864,  that 
the  rapid  growth  and  enduring  influence  of  the 
Brooklyn  sisterhood  is  chiefly  due.  Mother 
Seraphina  established  a  novitiate  at  Amityville, 
with  a  course  of  studies  and  training  for  the  future 
teachers  of  the  order.  Her  influence  upon  Catho- 
lic education  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  during  the 
quarter  of  a  century  of  her  superiorship,  the  num- 
ber of  Sisters  increased  from  nine  to  three  hun- 
dred.31 Mother  Benedicta  Bauer,  foundress  of 
the  Racine  community,  deserves  remembrance  also 
for  her  educational  influence.  It  was  indeed  due 
largely  to  her,  as  prioress  of  the  convent  at  Ratis- 
bon, that  the  first  Sisters  came  to  this  country. 
She  continued  to  send  teachers  for  the  growing 
schools  until  finally,  coming  in  person  to  America, 
she  consecrated  her  remaining  years  to  the  work 

29  Records  of  the  N.  Y.  mother-house. 
s°Cath.  Dir. 

"The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  Amer.,  I,  p.  329;  Dominican 
Year-Book,  1912,  p.  61. 


Sisters  of  St.  Francis  (1851)  81 

of  teaching   and  organizing   schools   among  the 
neglected  Catholic  German  immigrants. 

A  group  of  Dominican  Sisters  from  Dublin, 
Ireland,  established  a  convent  in  New  Orleans, 
in  1860,  where  they  have  charge  at  present  of 
several  schools  and  academies.  They  have  also 
founded  a  convent  at  Reno,  Nev.32 

SISTERS    OF    ST.     FRANCIS     (1851) 

A  significant  feature  of  the  welcome  which  the 
Catholics  of  Philadelphia  gave  to  Bishop  Neu- 
mann, when  he  came  to  take  possession  of  his 
See,  was  the  announcement  that  they  had,  in  honor 
of  the  event,  erected  a  new  parish  school.  The 
act  recalled  the  fervor  of  the  early  Catholics  of 
the  city  in  the  cause  of  Christian  education,  and 
it  was  a  fitting  symbol  of  the  spirit  and  policy  of 
the  new  bishop,  who  had  once  turned  school- 
master himself  rather  than  leave  the  little  ones 
of  his  flock  without  Christian  education.33  Bishop 
Neumann  labored  hard  to  multiply,  and  to  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of,  the  Catholic  schools.  The 
difficulty  of  getting  teachers  was  met,  partly,  by 
bringing  in  other  religious  orders,  and  partly  by 
the  organization  of  a  new  religious  order  in  Phila- 
delphia. Acting  under  the  advice  of  the  Pope, 
the  bishop,  on  April  9,  1855,  instituted  the  first 
community  of  Franciscan  Sisters  in  the  United 
States,  with  Mother  Mary  Frances  Bachmann  as 
the  superior.34 

8:Cath.  Dir. 

83  Cf .  The  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  279. 

"Life  of  Ven.  John  N.  Neumann,  p.  365. 


82     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

While  teaching  was  one  of  the  objects  of  the 
new  society,  it  was  to  be  devoted  principally  to  the 
work  of  caring  for  the  sick  and  the  poor.  Never- 
theless, as  time  went  on,  the  work  of  teaching 
assumed  a  larger  and  larger  place  proportionately 
in  the  activities  of  the  community.  The  first  school 
was  opened  in  St.  Alphonsus'  parish  in  1858,  and 
here  also  the  novitiate  was  established.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  growth  of  the  community 
was  slow,  as  only  Germans  were  admitted.  Under 
Archbishop  Ryan,  however,  this  limitation  was 
removed.  Parish  schools  were  gradually  taken 
in  charge,  in  Philadelphia  and  vicinity,  and  branch 
establishments  at  a  distance  formed. 

In  1871  the  novitiate  was  removed  to  a  fine 
property  at  Glen  Riddle  near  Philadelphia.  Since 
then  the  growth  of  the  community  has  been  rapid 
and  its  territorial  expansion  correspondingly 
great.  There  are  now  three  provinces  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  mother-house  at  Glen  Riddle. 
The  Eastern  Province  comprises  many  establish- 
ments in  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey,  as  well 
as  several  in  New  England;  the  Southern  includes 
schools  in  Baltimore,  Wilmington,  and  other 
places  in  the  South ;  while  in  the  Western  Province 
there  are  establishments  in  Oregon,  Washington, 
and  Wyoming,  several  of  these  being  devoted 
especially  to  the  education  of  the  Indians.  The 
number  of  Sisters  in  1910  was  863,  with  a  total 
of  65  schools.35 

The  first  mission  of  the  order  established  from 

85  Souvenir  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis;  The  Messenger  of  Our  Lady  of  Angels,  Apr.,  1900; 
Cath.  Dir.,  1910;  Hist.  Sketches  of  Cath.  Chs.  and  Insts.  of 
Phila.,  p.  200. 


Sisters  of  St.  Francis  (1851)  83 

Philadelphia  was  at  Buffalo,  in  1861.  The  de- 
velopment of  the  Buffalo  community,  which 
became  independent  two  years  later,  ran  in  lines 
parallel  with  those  of  the  parent  organization. 
While  clinging  to  the  primitive  ideal  of  charity- 
work,  the  Sisters  were  drawn  to  take  an  ever 
greater  share  in  the  work  of  education.  The 
novitiate,  which  remained  at  the  mother-house 
in  Buffalo  for  many  years,  was  lately  transferred 
to  Gardenville.  Although  the  immediate  educa- 
tional interests  of  the  community  have  been  con- 
fined to  the  conduct  of  parish  schools  in  the  city 
and  Diocese  of  Buffalo,  an  important  branch-foun- 
dation was  made  at  Millvale,  near  Pittsburgh,  in 
1868,  which  became  independent,  and  the  center 
of  a  series  of  schools  in  the  dioceses  of  Pittsburgh 
and  Altoona.  As  an  offshot  of  the  Pittsburgh 
branch,  a  new  independent  community  was  formed 
in  recent  years,  with  its  mother-house  on  Staten 
Island.  The  Buffalo  community  numbers  at 
present  almost  300  Sisters.36 

From  the  original  mother-house  in  Philadel- 
phia, another  important  branch-foundation  was 
made  at  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  in  1862.  Besides  con- 
ducting schools  in  Syracuse,  the  Sisters,  with  in- 
crease of  numbers,  took  charge  of  several  schools 
in  the  neighboring  Diocese  of  Albany,  and  also  of 
several  in  dioceses  more  remote.37 

Of  the  Franciscan  communities  unconnected 
with  the  above,  the  oldest  is  the  Sisterhood  of  St. 
Francis,  which  was  founded  at  Oldenburg,  Ind., 
in  1851.  The  pastor,  Father  Rudolf,  had  sought 

MCath.  Dir.;    The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  332. 
37  Cath.  Dir. 


84     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

in  vain  for  Sisters  for  his  school,  until  at  length 
two  were  allowed  to  come  from  the  Franciscan 
Convent  in  Vienna.  One  of  the  two,  disheart- 
ened, turned  back.  The  other,  Sister  Theresia, 
the  foundress  of  the  community,  continued  on 
courageously,  arriving  at  Oldenburg  toward  the 
end  of  the  year  1850.  She  at  once  opened  a 
school.  Several  postulants  were  admitted  the  next 
year,  and  in  1852  the  convent  was  canonically 
established,  and  an  academy  opened.  More  postu- 
lants came  from  Europe,  and  several  from  the 
vicinity,  and  other  parish  schools  were  accepted. 
The  complete  destruction  of  their  newly  built 
home  by  fire  could  not  daunt  souls  of  the  mettle 
of  Mother  Theresia  or  Father  Rudolf.  Another 
and  larger  building  was  immediately  put  up.  New 
and  larger  buildings  have,  in  fact,  marked  each 
successive  stage  of  the  community's  growth  at 
Oldenburg.  When  Mother  Theresia  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1860,  by  Mother  Antonia — a  brave- 
hearted  woman  of  the  same  mold — there  were 
39  Sisters,  while  at  the  latter's  death  in  1872 
there  were  140  Sisters,  with  28  parish  schools. 
The  educational  work  of  the  community  is  chiefly 
in  the  Archdioceses  of  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati 
and  the  Diocese  of  Indianapolis.  In  1910  there 
were  574  Sisters,  with  6  parish  schools  and  over 
13,000  pupils.38 

The  community  known  as  the  Franciscan  Sis- 
ters of  Perpetual  Adoration  was  formally  orga- 
nized at  Milwaukee  by  Archbishop  Heiss,  in 

"Records  of  the  mother-house,  Oldenburg;  Cath.  Dir. ; 
Alerding,  The  Diocese  of  Vincennes,  pp.  378,  587  seq. ;  Hist, 
of  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.,  p.  331. 


Benedictine  Sisters  (1852)  85 

1853.  Although  obliged  for  years  to  struggle  to 
maintain  its  existence,  the  community,  under  the 
guidance  of  Mother  Antonia,  overcame  little  by 
little  the  difficulties  of  their  situation.  The  first 
schools  were  taken  at  Jefferson,  Wis.,  in  1864. 
Six  years  later  the  mother-house  was  moved  to 
La  Crosse.  Efforts  were  steadily  made  to  improve 
the  teaching,  and  the  number  of  parish  schools 
in  charge  of  the  community  has  constantly  grown. 
In  1910  there  were  60  schools,  with  8450  pupils 
and  484  Sisters.39 

Another  independent  community  whose  mother- 
house  is  at  Joliet,  111.,  was  founded  by  a  Fran- 
ciscan superior,  Father  Pamifolo  da  Magliano,  in 
1865.  The  growth  of  this  community,  however, 
falls  outside  of  the  period  we  are  now  considering. 
Its  field  of  work  is  the  parish  schools,  and  in  1910, 
there  were  327  Sisters,  with  9325  pupils,  and  31 
schools.40 

Several  other  communities  of  Franciscan  Sis- 
ters were  founded  in  the  United  States  as  a  con- 
sequence of  the  German  Kulturkampf. 

BENEDICTINE     SISTERS    (1852) 

In  introducing  the  Benedictine  Fathers  into  the 
United  States  and  establishing  the  Monastery  of 
St.  Vincent's,  Westmoreland  County,  Pa.,  the 
Rev.  Boniface  Wimmer,  O.  S.  B.,  was  creating 
influences  that  were  to  give  a  mighty  impetus  to 
the  Catholic  school  movement.  The  work  of  the 
early  Benedictines  was  chiefly  among  the  Ger- 

89  Cath.  Dir. ;   The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  350  seq. 
40  Ib. 


86     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

mans.  The  Order  spread  and  multiplied  through- 
out the  country,  each  new  monastery  becoming  the 
nucleus  of  a  circle  of  schools.  One  of  the  first 
things  Father  Wimmer  did,  after  being  firmly 
established  at  St.  Vincent's,  was  to  bring  Bene- 
dictine Sisters  from  Eichstadt,  Bavaria,  for  the 
work  of  the  schools.  Three  Sisters,  with  Mother 
Benedicta  Riepp  at  their  head,  arrived  at  St. 
Mary's,  Elk  County,  July  22,  1852,  and  took  up 
their  residence  in  the  house  which  had  been  occu- 
pied for  two  years  by  Mother  Caroline  Friess 
and  her  Sisters.41  They  taught  in  the  public  or 
district  schools,  and  the  salary  received  was  for  a 
time  their  chief  means  of  support.  But  vocations 
were  plentiful,  and  other  Sisters  continued  to 
arrive  from  Bavaria.  Boarders  began  to  come, 
too,  and  a  part  of  the  convent  was  set  apart  for 
an  academy.  By  1855  the  community  numbered 
forty  members.42 

The  house  having  become  too  small  for  the 
number  of  inmates,  in  the  following  year  Mother 
Scholastica  Burkhard  and  six  Sisters  established 
St.  Benedict's  Convent,  Erie,  Pa.  The  Sisters 
had  been  called  to  Erie  to  teach  in  the  German 
school,  but  an  academy  was  also  started,  and 
parish  schools  were  taken  in  other  cities  round 
about.  Among  Benedictine  convents,  the  Erie 
establishment,  in  point  of  educational  influence,  is 
second  only  to  St.  Mary's,  its  own  venerable 
mother-house  and  the  cradle  of  the  Benedictine 
Nuns  in  America.  In  1859,  the  convent  having 

41  See  Mother  Caroline  Friess — the  School  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame. 

42  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  294. 


Benedictine  Sisters  (1852)  87 

become  independent,  Mother  Alexia  Lechner  was 
sent  from  Erie  to  Covington,  Ky.,  with  five  Sis- 
ters, to  take  charge  of  St.  Joseph's  Parish  School, 
and  during  the  following  year  three  other  Sisters 
from  Erie  founded  a  convent  of  the  Order  in 
Chicago.43 

Both  of  these  branch  establishments  of  the 
Erie  house  have  special  historical  importance. 
The  Covington  school,  under  the  wise  and  patient 
administration  of  Mother  Alexia,  grew  from  the 
humblest  beginnings  to  a  large  and  successful  in- 
stitution, known  as  St.  Walburg's  Convent  and 
Academy.  Another  academy,  known  as  "Villa 
Madonna,"  has  lately  been  opened  on  a  beautiful 
spot  a  few  miles  out  from  Covington.  Parochial 
schools  were  also  taken  up,  and  several  founda- 
tions were  made  which  developed  into  new  and 
important  centers  of  the  Order's  work.  One  of 
these  was  at  New  Orleans,  and  was  founded  in 
1870.  Later  on,  parish  schools  in  Alabama  were 
opened.  But  the  most  important  of  the  founda- 
tions from  Covington  was  made  at  Ferdinand, 
Ind.,  a  few  miles  from  St.  Meinrad's  Abbey  and 
College.  Here  three  Sisters  from  the  Covington 
convent  came  in  1867.  Teaching  in  the  adjacent 
parish  schools,  tilling  with  their  own  hands  the 
rough  soil,  training  the  candidates  that  came  to 
them,  in  a  word,  teaching,  laboring,  praying,  and 
hoping  even  against  hope — such  was  the  life  of 
this  little  Indiana  community  during  its  early 
years.  Slowly  but  steadily  it  grew.  An  academy 
was  opened,  and  German  schools  were  taken  up 
in  various  places  in  Southern  Indiana.  Larger  and 
"The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  294. 


88     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

more  modern  buildings  for  both  convent  and 
academy  were  erected  at  Ferdinand,  while  inde- 
pendent branches  were  also  formed,  chief  among 
which  was  an  establishment  at  Shoal  Creek,  Ark., 
in  1878,  which  has  become  an  important  convent 
and  academy,  supplying  teachers  for  many  parish 
schools  throughout  that  State.44  The  Chicago 
foundation  also  became  an  independent  establish- 
ment, comprising  a  convent,  academy,  and 
parish  schools.  From  the  Chicago  convent  St. 
Mary's  Convent  and  Academy,  Nauvoo,  111.,  was 
founded  in  1870,  to  which  is  also  attached  a  series 
of  parochial  schools.  Other  offshoots  are  the 
Bohemian  Benedictine  Convent  and  Academy,  in 
Chicago,  with  its  series  of  Bohemian  schools,  and 
the  Benedictine  community  in  Colorado,  with  its 
academy  at  Canon  City,  and  several  parish 
schools.45 

We  have  followed  the  extension  of  this  Order 
which  sprang  from  the  Erie  foundation,  the  first 
offshoot.  The  wide-ranging  movement  just  de- 
scribed is  typical  of  a  series  of  similar  growths 
that  had  their  origin  at  St.  Mary's,  the  original 
mother-house. 

One  of  these,  which  began  a  year  after  the 
foundation  of  the  house  at  Erie,  had  for  its  object 
the  foundation  of  a  school  at  Indiana,  Pa.  Cir- 
cumstances not  being  favorable,  however,  the 
Sisters  went  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  the  same  year, 
opening  a  convent  and  school  there,  and,  later  on, 
at  Elizabeth,  which  became  an  independent 

44  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  297;  Cath.  Dir. ; 
Alerding,  Hist,  of  Dioc.  of  Vinccnnes,  p.  597. 

"The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  297;  cf.  Chapter  on 
Schools  of  the  Foreign  Nationalities. 


Benedictine  Sisters  (1852)  89 

center  of  a  series  of  parish  schools  and  also  the 
parent  convent  of  the  Benedictine  establishment  at 
Manchester,  N.  H.  The  mother-house  of  the 
Newark  branch  was  subsequently  transferred  to 
Ridgley,  Md.  From  Ridgley,  a  colony  was  sent 
to  Iowa,  but  it  settled  eventually  in  Oklahoma, 
where  the  Sisters  have  charge  of  an  academy  at 
Guthrie  and  of  a  number  of  parish  schools.49 

A  few  months  after  this  movement  eastward, 
yielding  to  the  appeal  of  Bishop  Cretin,  of  St. 
Paul,  another  colony  left  the  mother-house  which 
was  destined  to  do  much  for  the  educational  up- 
building of  the  West.  With  Mother  Benedicta, 
the  superior  of  St.  Mary's,  at  their  head,  this 
colony  of  six  Sisters  settled  first  at  St.  Cloud, 
Minn.,  opening  an  academy  there  and  a  school  at 
St.  Joseph,  Stearns  County,  which  was  made  the 
mother-house.  The  community  had  years  of  trial 
and  hardship  to  endure,  but  it  increased  with  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  Northwest,  extending  its 
work  by  taking  up  new  schools  and  founding  new 
convents  as  centers.  It  has  become  the  largest 
of  the  numerous  Benedictine  communities,  count- 
ing over  four  hundred  Sisters,  with  schools 
in  the  Archdiocese  of  St.  Paul  and  the  dioceses 
of  St.  Cloud,  Duluth,  Fargo,  La  Crosse, 
and  Seattle.  Six  years  after  their  arrival  in  Min- 
nesota, the  Sisters  sent  a  colony  to  Atchison, 
Kan.,  where  an  independent  convent  was  estab- 
lished, in  which  teachers  were  formed  for  a  series 
of  parish  schools  in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Iowa, 
and  from  which  a  new  convent  has  been  founded 
at  Nebraska  City.  Another  independent  branch 
*  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  294. 


QO     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

of  the  community  was  fortned  in  1892,  with  its 
center  at  Duluth,  the  Sisters  having  charge  of  an 
academy  in  that  city,  besides  quite  a  number  of 
parish  schools.47 

In  1868  another  colony  from  the  original 
mother-house  went  southward  to  Richmond,  Va., 
where  an  academy  and  school  were  opened,  the 
mother-house  being  subsequently  removed  to 
Bristow,  in  the  same  State.48 

The  last  colony  sent  out  from  the  venerable 
convent  at  St.  Mary's  founded  houses  at  Carroll- 
town  and  Johnstown,  Pa.,  in  1870.  The  latter 
establishment  was  transferred  to  Alleghany,  which 
became  the  mother-house  of  the  new  community. 
Besides  establishing  an  academy  at  Alleghany,  and 
taking  charge  of  a  number  of  parish  schools,  the 
Sisters  founded  an  academy  and  a  new  center  of 
the  work  of  the  Order  at  San  Antonio,  Fla.,  in 


In  addition  to  the  Benedictine  communities  his- 
torically connected  with  St.  Mary's,  a  number  of 
others  exist;  but  as  these  were  founded  after  the 
Immigration  Period,  they  do  not  lie  within  the 
scope  of  the  present  chapter.  It  may  be  noted, 
however,  that  most  of  these  later  European  colo- 
nies have  gone  to  the  Far  West,  and  that  their 
development  has  been  rapid.  Mention  may  be 
made  of  the  independent  communities  at  Clyde, 
Mo.,  Yankton,  S.  Dak.,  Cottonwood,  Idaho,  and 
Mt.  Angel,  Ore.,  which  were  founded  by  Sisters 
from  Switzerland.50 

4rCath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  294. 

48  Ib. 

49  Ib. 
60  Ib. 


Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  (1853)  91 

According  to  the  ancient  constitution  of  the 
Benedictine  Order,  each  regularly  established  con- 
vent was  to  be  independent.  This  was  the  ruling 
principle  in  the  developments  that  have  just  been 
described,  the  usual  condition  being  that  of  a  self- 
centered  convent  having  attached  to  it  a  number 
of  minor  establishments  or  schools.  But  there 
has  also  been  a  tendency  towards  the  formation 
of  congregations,  after  the  example  of  the  Bene- 
dictine congregations  of  men.51  Several  of  the 
Benedictine  communities  of  women  now  have  a 
strongly  centralized  government,  like  the  more 
modern  sisterhoods. 

In  1908,  there  were  1884  Benedictine  Sisters 
in  establishments  connected  historically  with  the 
first  mother-house  at  St.  Mary's,  having  in  charge 
about  30,000  pupils.52 

SISTERS    OF    THE    INCARNATE    WORD   (1853) 

From  the  Monastery  of  the  Incarnate  Word 
at  Lyons,  France,  several  colonies  of  Sisters  were 
sent  to  Texas  during  the  Immigration  Period. 
The  first  of  these  came  in  1853,  and  established 
a  convent  and  academy  at  Brownsville.  Other 
convents  and  academies  were  subsequently 
founded  at  Rio  Grande  City,  Corpus  Christ!,  and 
other  places  in  the  same  State.  The  houses  are 
independent,  under  diocesan  jurisdiction.  Over 
one  hundred  Sisters  were,  in  1910,  engaged  in 
teaching  in  these  diocesan  branches  of  the  Order, 

61  For  an  historical  sketch  of  the  development  of  the  con- 
gregational system  in  the  Benedictine  Order,  see  Cath.  Ency- 
clopedia, II,  art.  Benedictines. 

"Cath.  Dir.,  1909. 


9  2     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

under  the  name  of  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word 
and  Blessed  Sacrament.53 

The  most  important  foundation  in  Texas 
from  the  monastery  at  Lyons  was  made  in  the 
year  1866,  when  Bishop  Dubuis,  in  search  of  re- 
ligious for  the  work  of  education  and  charity  in 
the  vast  State  under  his  care,  applied  at  length 
to  the  superior  of  this  monastery,  Mother  Ange- 
lique.  She  agreed  to  set  apart  several  candidates 
who  should  form  the  nucleus  of  a  new  congre- 
gation. The  mission  of  the  new  teaching  order, 
which  was  given  the  name  of  Sisters  of  Charity 
of  the  Incarnate  Word,  was  thus  expressly  dedi- 
cated to  America,  and  particularly  to  the  State  of 
Texas.  After  a  brief  stay  at  Lyons,  the  three 
Sisters  chosen  arrived  at  Galveston  towards  the 
end  of  the  same  year.  Within  a  few  years  sev- 
eral other  bands  were  sent  out  by  Mother  Ange- 
lique,  and  the  Sisters  at  Galveston  were  enabled 
to  found  new  establishments.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  was  at  San  Antonio. 

The  community  at  San  Antonio,  in  fact,  which 
was  founded  by  three  Sisters  who  were  sent  there 
in  1869  by  Bishop  Dubuis,  has  grown  to  be  the 
most  numerous  teaching  body  in  the  Far  South- 
west. It  was  established  under  great  difficulties, 
but  under  the  wise  guidance  of  Mother  St.  Made- 
leine Chollet,  the  first  superior,  and  of  her  suc- 
cessor, Mother  St.  Pierre  Cinquin,  who  has  been 
called  the  "organizer  and  soul"  of  its  principal 
undertakings,  the  community  not  only  increased 
greatly  in  membership,  but  also  in  educational 
resources  and  efficiency.  In  1870,  it  was  made 

MCath.  Dir. 


Sisters  of  the  Presentation  (1854)  93 

an  independent  center,  according  to  the  statutes 
then  in  force  in  the  Order.  From  the  mother- 
house  at  San  Antonio,  numerous  missions  were 
founded,  both  in  the  Diocese  of  San  Antonio  and 
in  neighboring  dioceses,  as  well  as  in  Mexico. 
These  branch-establishments  have  remained 
united  with  the  mother-house,  through  the  adop- 
tion of  an  organization  like  that  of  the  modern 
teaching  congregations.  The  community  is  known 
as  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Incarnate  Word. 

The  mother-house  and  novitiate  were  removed, 
in  1897,  to  a  spacious  site  near  Alamo  Heights, 
outside  the  city  of  San  Antonio,  and  here  also, 
several  years  later,  the  Academy  of  the  Incarnate 
Word  was  opened.  The  Sisters  have  another 
academy  within  the  city.  Besides  many  parish 
schools,  they  have  academies  in  a  number  of  the 
more  important  cities  and  towns  of  Texas,  and 
over  a  dozen  in  Mexico. 

In  1910,  there  were  538  Sisters  in  the  com- 
munity.5* 

SISTERS    OF    THE     PRESENTATION    (1854) 

There  are  many  academies  and  schools  in  the 
United  States  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  this 
Order.  The  convents  are,  as  a  rule,  independent 
of  each  other.  The  oldest  establishment  is  that 
at  San  Francisco,  founded  in  1854,  from  which 
several  branch-houses  in  California  were  formed. 
The  work  of  the  Sisters  is  devoted  to  academies, 
rather  than  to  parish  schools.  The  other  inde- 

64  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  313;    Cath.  Dir., 
1910. 


94     Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

pendent  centers  were   formed  by  colonies   from 
Europe  after  the  Immigration  Period.55 

SISTERS    OF    THE    HOLY    NAMES    OF    JESUS 
AND    MARY  (1859) 

This  institute,  founded  in  the  Province  of  Que- 
bec in  1844,  sent  Sisters  to  Portland,  Ore.,  in 
1859,  at  the  request  of  Bishop  Blanchet.  They 
made  the  journey  by  way  of  Panama  and,  arriv- 
ing at  their  destination,  then  a  little  town  of  2000 
inhabitants,  opened  St.  Mary's  Academy.  The 
work  of  the  Sisters  grew  with  the  growth  of  the 
city  and  the  State.  Besides  opening  another 
academy  in  Portland,  and  taking  charge  of  many 
of  the  parish  schools  of  the  diocese,  they  founded 
academies  at  Seattle  and  Spokane  which  have 
developed  into  important  institutions.  A  novi- 
tiate was  established  at  the  mother-house  in 
Portland,  in  iSyi.56 

Another  colony  of  the  Sisters  was  brought  from 
Canada  to  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  1865,  by  Bishop 
Conroy.  About  the  same  time,  Bishop  Verot 
secured  some  of  the  Sisters  for  the  Diocese  of  St. 
Augustine,  where  academies  or  schools  were 
opened  at  Key  West,  Tampa,  and  several  other 
places.  These  two  groups  of  establishments  were 
united  to  form  a  new  province  of  the  Order,  with 
the  mother-house  at  Schenectady,  where  an 
academy  was  founded,  as  also  at  Albany.  The 
Sisters  conduct  several  parish  schools  in  the 
diocese  of  Albany. 

"Cath.  Dir. 

M  See   chapter   on   The   Far   Western   States — Oregon   and 
Washington. 


Sisters  of  the  Holy  Child  Jesus  (1863)  95 

A  group  of  Sisters  was  sent  from  Canada 
to  Oakland,  Cal.,  in  1868,  where  the  College  of 
the  Holy  Names  was  founded,  and  a  novitiate 
opened  for  candidates  for  the  community.  They 
took  charge  of  several  parish  schools  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mother-house  at  Oakland,  and 
extended  their  work  southward,  opening  acade- 
mies at  Pasadena,  Pomona,  Santa  Monica,  and 
Shorb. 

In  addition  to  the  establishments  in  the  above 
provinces,  there  are  a  number  of  other  schools  of 
these  Sisters  in  the  United  States  which  were 
founded  directly  from  Quebec,  and  which  are  de- 
pendent on  the  mother-house  there. 

In  1910,  there  were  783  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Names  in  the  United  States,  with  over  18,000 
pupils.57 

SISTERS    OF   THE    HOLY    CHILD    JESUS  (1863) 

As  this  community  came  to  the  United  States 
near  the  end  of  the  period  now  being  studied,  the 
account  of  it  here  will  be  brief.  Founded  by  a 
native  of  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  Cornelia  Connelly, 
a  convert  to  the  Church,  the  society  sent  a  colony 
of  Sisters  to  America  from  the  mother-house  at 
Derby,  England,  who  opened  an  academy  and 
school  in  Philadelphia  in  1863.  At  the  head  of 
the  little  band  was  Mother  Xavier  Noble.  Pre- 
vious to  their  establishment  in  Philadelphia, 
where  they  came  at  the  invitation  of  Father  Car- 

67  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.,  I,  p.  3/9;  Cath.  Dir.,  1910; 
Gleanings  of  Fifty  Years — The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  in 
the  Northwest,  passim. 


9  6      Teaching  Communities  in  Immigration  Period 

ter,  Vicar-General  of  Archbishop  Wood,  they  had 
endeavored  to  found  an  academy  at  Towanda, 
Pa.  Father  Carter  soon  purchased  for  the  Order 
a  beautiful  property  at  Sharon  Hill,  where  a 
novitiate  was  opened  and  an  academy.  Another 
academy  was  established  in  West  Philadelphia  a 
few  years  later.  With  the  growth  of  the  novitiate, 
more  parish  schools  were  taken  in  charge  in  the 
city,  and  the  work  of  the  community  was  slowly 
extended.  An  academy  and  school  were  opened 
at  Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  in  1884.  Another  academy 
and  school  were  opened  in  New  York  City.  The 
Sisters'  principal  field  of  work,  however,  has  con- 
tinued to  be  the  Archidocese  of  Philadelphia. 

In  1910,  there  were  190  Sisters,  and  4720 
pupils.58 

SISTERS    OF    DIVINE    PROVIDENCE     (1866) 

Through  the  efforts  of  Bishop  Dubuis,  two 
Sisters  of  this  community  came  to  Texas  from 
Lorraine,  in  1866,  and  established  a  school  at 
Castroville.  The  mother-house  was  subsequently 
removed  to  San  Antonio.  The  community  has  had 
an  important  influence  upon  the  Catholic  school 
movement  in  Texas,59  but  the  history  of  its  growth 
falls  outside  the  scope  of  the  present  chapter.60 

BSThe  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  368;   Hist.  Sketches 
of  the  Cath.  Chs.  and  Insts.  of  Phila.,  p.  207;    Cath.  Dir. 
69  See  Chapter  on  The  Far  Western  States — Texas. 
60  Cf.  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  324;   Cath.  Dir. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TEACHING    BROTHERS    IN    THE     IMMIGRATION 
PERIOD 

GENERAL     CONDITIONS 

THE  POLICY  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the 
United  States  has,  from  the  very  beginning, 
favored  the  separation  of  the  sexes  in  the  school 
at  an  early  age.  In  the  schools  of  the  early  mis- 
sionaries, the  tendency  was  to  hire  male  teachers 
for  the  boys,  wherever  this  could  be  done.  When 
the  first  sisterhoods  came,  a  boys'  school,  with  a 
hired  teacher,  was  often  to  be  found  side  by  side 
with  the  Sisters'  school  for  the  girls.  There  was 
a  persistent  effort,  on  the  part  of  the  great  pioneer 
schoolmen,  whether  bishops  or  priests,  to  bring 
teaching  brotherhoods  from  Europe,  or,  failing 
in  this,  to  institute  new  ones  at  home.  Thus, 
Father  Nerinckx,  early  in  the  last  century,  organ- 
ized a  brotherhood  in  Kentucky,  and,  upon  its 
extinction,  the  project  was  renewed  by  Bishop 
Flaget.  Bishop  Dubourg  brought  some  teaching 
Brothers  with  him  to  St.  Louis  from  France,  and 
an  attempt  was  made  to  start  a  teaching  order  of 
men  in  New  York  City,  under  Bishop  Dubois.1 
Bishop  O'Connor  planted  a  colony  of  the  Irish 

1  Ci.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  pp.  231,  313,  274. 
97 


98      Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

Brothers  of  the  Presentation  at  Pittsburgh  in 
i845.2  Bishop  Hughes  brought  over  Brothers  of 
the  Christian  Doctrine  from  Ireland  in  1846,* 
while  another  community  of  Irish  Brothers,  a 
year  later,  located  in  Baltimore.4  None  of  these 
foundations,  however,  was  lasting.  The  failure 
of  such  attempts,  where  sisterhoods  that  were 
founded  about  the  same  time  grew  and  flourished, 
argues  the  existence  at  the  time  of  conditions 
making  strongly  against  the  establishment  and 
growth  of  teaching  orders  of  Brothers.  A  num- 
ber of  the  teaching  brotherhoods  that  came  to  the 
country  during  the  Immigration  Period  have 
grown  and  prospered;  but  they  have  not,  gen- 
erally speaking,  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the 
communities  of  women  which  were  established 
here  at  the  same  time.  Vocations  to  the  religious 
life  appear  to  be  more  plentiful  among  women 
than  among  men.  The  disproportion  has  been 
less  marked  in  Europe  than  in  the  United 
States,  and  it  is  evident  that  conditions  have  been 
operative  here  which  have  not  obtained,  at  least 
to  the  same  extent,  in  the  Old  World. 

One  of  these  conditions  sprang  from  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  Church,  involving,  as  a  conse- 
quence, a  great  need  of  priests.  A  somewhat 
similar  condition  has  been  a  constant  disturbing 
influence  in  the  public  schools.  The  tendency  has 
been  all  along  for  male  teachers  to  drop  out  of 
the  public  schools,  because  their  talents  could 


'Lambing,  Hist,  of  Cath.  Ch.  in  Dioc.  of  Alleg.  and  Pittsb., 
P.  473- 

*  Hassard,  Life  of  Archb.  Hughes,  p.  284. 
4U.  S.  Cath.  Mag.,  VI,  p.  105. 


General  Conditions  99 

command  a  higher  service  as  well  as  a  higher  sal- 
ary elsewhere.  Teaching  Brothers  who  had 
received  a  classical  training  often  felt  themselves 
called  to  the  higher  life  of  the  priesthood;  and 
bishops,  sorely  pressed  for  ministers  to  break  to 
their  people  the  bread  of  life,  were  usually  not 
unwilling  to  accept  anyone  who  could  be  properly 
prepared.  All  the  teaching  brotherhoods  have 
suffered  severely  from  this  condition,  although  it 
is  probably  less  operative  to-day  than  in  the  past. 
Another  condition,  peculiar  to  American  life, 
which  has  had  a  retarding  influence  upon  the 
growth  of  the  teaching  brotherhoods,  is  the 
tendency  towards  a  commingling  of  the  religious 
or  clerical  life  with  the  life  of  people  in  the  world. 
This  condition  does  not,  of  course,  materially 
affect  the  orders  of  women.  The  clergy,  although 
subject  to  its  influence,  have  a  safeguard  in  the 
character  of  the  holy  ministry.  The  teaching 
brotherhood,  on  the  other  hand,  has  to  withstand 
this  influence,  without  any  countervailing  check  of 
the  kind.  The  American  teaching  brother  can 
not  hold  himself  aloof  from  the  world  to  the 
same  extent  as  the  nun,  or  as  the  teaching  Brother 
in  the  Old  World.  In  the  routine  of  his  daily 
activities,  within  and  without  the  class-room, 
there  are  a  hundred  points  of  contact  between 
the  American  teaching  Brother  and  the  world  that 
are  unknown  to  the  more  mature  religious  life  in 
Europe.  This  condition  may  pass  away,  but  it  has 
been  an  important  factor  in  the  failures  of  the 
teaching  brotherhoods  referred  to  above,  and  its 
influence  has  been  felt  even  in  the  case  of  those 
that  have  grown  strong. 


ioo    Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

There  is  still  another  condition  that  has  to  be 
considered.  There  have  not  been,  at  any  time, 
Brothers  enough  to  take  charge  of  the  boys  in 
Catholic  schools,  ardently  as  this  was  desired  by 
many  of  the  leading  bishops  and  priests.  But 
even  had  they  been  numerous  enough,  another 
factor  would  necessarily  have  proven  a  check  upon 
their  employment  in  parish  schools.  The  matter 
of  economy  is  vital  for  the  Catholic  school.  Hun- 
dreds of  Catholic  schools  keep  open  because  the 
expense  is  actually  just  no  more  than  it  is.  In 
debt-ridden  parishes,  where  the  problem  all  the 
year  round  is,  how  "to  make  ends  meet,"  the 
school  is  sometimes  felt  to  be  a  burden  so 'great 
that  any  expedient  not  inconsistent  with  the  essen- 
tial purpose  of  the  school  which  would  be  calcu- 
lated to  reduce  its  expense  is  welcomed.  The 
teaching  Brother  worked  for  about  one-half  the 
salary  of  the  male  teacher  in  the  public  school; 
but  the  Sister  could  live  on  one-half  of  the  Broth- 
er's salary.  If  a  school  were  to  be  opened,  there- 
fore, Sisters  were  usually  employed,  as  a  matter 
of  course.  If  Brothers  were  already  in  the  parish, 
a  change  was  often  made,  when  opportunity  of- 
fered. Looked  at  practically,  such  a  policy  meant, 
in  many  cases,  the  cutting  down  of  the  expense  of 
the  school  by  almost  one-half.  And  in  some  in- 
stances, too,  the  condition  of  the  parish  exchequer 
left  very  little  choice  in  the  matter.5 

Still,  many  parishes  employed  the  Brothers,  and 

even  parishes  that  had  to  put  forth  special  efforts 

to  make  accounts  balance,   have  been  known  to 

struggle  on  and  make  great  sacrifices,   in  order 

*  See  chapter  on  The  Economic  Side. 


Brothers  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross     101 

to  provide  the  best  teachers  possible  for  the  boys. 
The  demand  for  teaching  Brothers  has  always 
been  greater  than  the  supply,  and  the  demand  has 
grown  greater  with  each  succeeding  year.  The 
development  of  the  upper  grades  of  the  grammar 
school,  and  the  addition  of  high  school  grades  to 
hundreds  of  schools,  has  made  their  services  alto- 
gether indispensable.  On  their  part,  the  teach- 
ing brotherhoods  have  clearly  recognized  this 
strong  academic  drift  upwards,  and  they  have 
risen  to  meet  it.6  While  maintaining  their  ele- 
mentary schools,  wherever  possible,  they  have 
none  the  less  perceived  that  their  main  field  of 
servite  in  the  future,  in  the  schools,  is  to  be  the 
upper  grades,  together  with  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial training.  The  recognition  of  this  has 
brought  with  it  a  corresponding  advance  in  stand- 
ards of  training.  In  one  instance,  a  normal  train- 
ing of  several  years,  following  upon  and  distinct 
from  the  novitiate,  has  marked  the  advance  from 
the  old  normal  course,  which  was  confined  to  the 
year  of  the  novitiate  alone.  Higher  or  severer 
normal  school  standards  have,  in  fact,  character- 
ized the  growth  of  all  the  teaching  brotherhoods 
in  recent  times. 


BROTHERS    OF   THE    CONGREGATION   OF   THE 
HOLY    CROSS    (1841) 

The  Brothers  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy 
Cross  have  the  honor  of  being  the  first  of  the 
existing  teaching  brotherhoods  to  be  established 

6  Cf .  chapter  on  Current  Movements  and  Problems — Catholic 
High  Schools. 


IO2     Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

in  the  United  States.  Early  in  the  Immigration 
Period,  a  colony  of  the  Brothers,  with  Father 
Sorin  at  their  head,  arrived  from  France,  and 
from  Notre  Dame  as  a  center  they  exercised  an 
influence  upon  the  school  movement  that  was 
widely  felt.  Founded  about  the  year  1820,  and 
known  originally  as  the  "  Brothers  of  St. 
Joseph,"  the  community  united  with  an  associa- 
tion of  priests  to  form  the  Congregation  of  the 
Holy  Cross.  Both  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
and  the  Sisters  of  Providence  of  Indiana  are 
closely  connected  in  origin  with  this  congregation.7 
It  was  in  response  to  an  appeal  of  Bishop  de  la 
Hailandiere,  of  Vincennes,  that  Father  Edward 
Sorin,  with  six  Brothers,  embarked  for  America 
in  the  year  1841,  arriving  at  New  York  on  Sep- 
tember i3.8  After  a  stay  at  St.  Peter's,  near 
Vincennes,  where  they  taught  school  for  about  a 
year,  the  community  was  transferred  to  the  tract 
of  land  selected  by  Father  Badin  years  before  for 
an  educational  center,  the  place  being  named  by 
Father  Sorin,  Notre  Dame  du  Lac.  Here  the 
mother-house  was  established.  A  college  and  a 
manual  labor  school  were  soon  opened.  With 
the  arrival  of  more  religious  from  France  and  of 
candidates  for  the  novitiate  at  Notre  Dame,  the 
work  of  the  Brothers  was  extended.  Besides 
several  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  Notre  Dame, 
they  also  took  charge  of  parish  schools  at  Fort 
Wayne,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and 
other  places  in  the  Middle  West.  For  many 

7  Trahey,  The  Brothers  of  Holy  Cross. 
*  Cf.  The  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  pp.  241,  355 ;   Trahey,  op. 
cit,  p.  47- 


Brothers  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross     103 

years,  too,  they  had  flourishing  schools  in  Phila- 
delphia, Trenton,  and  Camden,  in  the  East.  Most 
of  these  parish  schools  were  eventually  relin- 
quished. The  chief  cause  of  this  was,  the  scarcity 
of  vocations  to  the  teaching  brotherhood,  together 
with  the  remarkable  growth  of  the  college  at 
Notre  Dame,  which  necessitated  an  ever  greater 
concentration  of  the  community  at  home.  The 
Brothers  have  continued  in  charge  of  a  number  of 
parish  schools,  however,  and  of  late  years,  per- 
ceiving the  trend  of  Catholic  school  growth,  they 
have  been  quietly  preparing  to  take  a  larger  part 
in  the  work  of  secondary  education.  Recently, 
they  have  taken  charge  of  high  schools  in  Fort 
Wayne  and  Chicago. 

The  concentration  of  the  teaching  Brothers  at 
Notre  Dame,  while  it  was  a  disadvantage  to  the 
school  movement,  contributed  much  to  the  growth 
of  the  institutions  at  the  mother-house,  and 
especially  the  college,  where  the  Brothers  have 
from  the  beginning  had  principal  charge  of  the 
secondary  and  commercial  classes,  and  also  of 
certain  administrative  positions.9  It  is  interesting 
to  record  that  the  work  of  Father  Sorin  and  the 
six  pioneer  Brothers,  continued  in  the  joint  labors 
of  the  Priests  and  Brothers  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
have  splendidly  fulfilled  the  prophetic  plan  of 
Father  Badin  for  the  establishment  of  a  great 
Catholic  educational  center  at  the  old  mission- 
station  of  the  Potawatomi;  and  that,  with  the 
recent  establishment  at  Notre  Dame  of  a  new  nor- 
mal school  for  the  higher  training  of  the  Broth- 
ers, the  influence  of  this  educational  center  bids 

•Trahey,  op.  cit.;   The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A. 


iO4    Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

fair  to  make  itself  even  more  widely  felt  in  the 
future  in  the  Catholic  school  movement,  as  well 
as  in  the  domain  of  the  higher  education. 

BROTHERS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    SCHOOLS 

(Christian  Brothers)   (1846) 

Long  before  the  first  permanent  establishment 
of  the  Christian  Brothers  in  the  United  States,  the 
efforts  made  by  various  American  prelates  to 
secure  members  of  the  Order  from  Europe  were 
evidence  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  the  Broth- 
ers were  held  as  teachers  and  of  the  urgent 
need  that  was  felt  for  them.10  At  length,  in 
November,  1846,  through  the  agency  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Coskery,  rector  of  the  cathedral  in  Baltimore, 
several  Brothers  arrived  in  that  city  from  Can- 
ada, and  opened  a  school  in  Calvert  Hall.11 
Almost  from  the  first,  candidates  for  admission 
to  the  Order  began  to  apply.  Both  an  academy 
and  a  free  school  were  conducted. 

Two  years  later  a  house  was  founded  in  New 
York,  which  thenceforward  became  the  chief  cen- 
ter of  the  Order  in  this  country.  The  New  York 
band  came  from  France,  and  was  composed 
of  Brother  Stylean,  Director,  and  Brothers 
Andronis,  Albien,  and  Pastoris.  A  school  and  an 
academy  were  opened  in  the  French  parish  of  St. 
Vincent,  whose  pastor,  Father  Lafont,  had  been 
largely  instrumental  in  bringing  the  Brothers  to 
New  York.  Brother  John  Chrysostom,  after- 

10  Cf.  Cath.  School  System  in  U.  S. 

11 U.  S.  Cath.  Mag.,  V,  p.  686;    The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S. 
of  A.,  I,  p.  84. 


Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools  105 

wards  a  noted  teacher,  entered  the  Order  soon 
after  their  arrival.  Other  candidates  came  also, 
and  the  membership  rapidly  increased.  Much  had 
been  expected  of  the  Brothers'  school  work,  and 
the  Catholic  public  was  not  disappointed.  Bishop 
Hughes,  who  had  long  looked  for  the  coming  of 
the  community  as  the  culmination  of  his  plans  for 
the  advancement  of  education  in  the  diocese,  was 
an  enthusiastic  witness  to  the  good  results.  Plac- 
ing his  own  cathedral  school  under  their  direction, 
he  did  everything  in  his  power  to  further  the 
progress  and  spread  of  their  work.  Ten  schools 
were  opened  by  the  Brothers  within  the  first  ten 
years.12 

A  novitiate  and  a  normal  school  were  opened 
on  Second  Street  in  1861,  the  candidates  having 
been  sent  to  Montreal  previous  to  this  time. 
From  Second  Street,  the  training  schools  were 
removed  in  turn  to  Westchester,  Amawalk,  and, 
finally,  in  1906,  to  a  fine  new  building  erected  at 
Pocantico  Hills,  on  a  site  commanding  a  superb 
view  from  the  Hudson  River  to  the  Sound. 

As  we  are  concerned  here  chiefly  with  the  work 
of  the  Brothers  in  the  schools,  it  will  suffice  to 
mention  the  establishment  of  Manhattan  College 
in  1853,  the  institution  having  been  begun  as  an 
academy.  La  Salle  Academy  was  started  on  the 
first  arrival  of  the  Brothers,  in  St.  Vincent's 
Parish.  It  was  removed  from  Canal  Street  to 
Mulberry  Street  after  some  years,  and  was  trans- 

12  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  77 ;  Cath.  World, 
LXXIII,  p.  721 ;  Fifth  Ann.  Rep.  of  Supts.  of  Cath.  Schools, 
N.  Y. ;  1908,  p.  85;  Considine,  Brief  Chron.  Account;  Cath 
Herald,  Jan.  12,  1856;  Freeman's  Journal,  April  20,  1907; 
Cath.  Ed.  Rev.,  I,  p.  313. 


io6     Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

ferred,  in  1856,  to  its  historic  site  on  Second 
Street.  St.  James'  Academy,  Brooklyn,  was 
founded  in  1851.  Two  other  schools  with  sec- 
ondary as  well  as  grammar  grades,  St.  James  and 
St.  Gabriel's,  were  opened  subsequently  in  New 
York.13 

Under  the  energetic  administration  of  Brother 
Facile,  the  work  of  the  Brothers  was  early  ex- 
tended to  other  places.  A  year  after  their  arrival 
in  New  York,  a  colony  was  sent  to  St.  Louis. 
Academies  and  parish  schools  were  founded  at 
Troy,  Albany,  Syracuse,  and  Utica.  In  1861, 
in  response  to  the  appeal  of  Bishop  Timon,  of 
Buffalo,  they  took  charge  of  St.  Joseph's  College 
there,  which  became  an  important  center  of  their 
school  work  in  the  vicinity.  Other  schools  were 
opened  throughout  New  York  State  in  succeeding 
years,  while  new  colonies  were  sent  out  to  more 
distant  places.  The  most  important  of  these,  per- 
haps, was  the  colony  sent  to  San  Francisco,  in 
1868.  The  work  of  the  Brothers  in  New  Eng- 
land was  begun  by  the  founding  of  the  La  Salle 
Academy,  Providence,  in  1871.  Parochial 
schools,  academies  or  high  schools  have  been 
opened  since  then  in  Fall  River,  Lynn,  and 
Waltham,  Mass.,  in  Manchester  and  Dover, 
N.  H.,  and  in  Hartford,  Conn.  At  Detroit,  also, 
the  western  limit  of  the  New  York  Province,  a 
school  was  founded.14 

The  establishment  in  Baltimore  continued  to 
increase,  but  it  was  not  until  the  year  1878  that 
a  novitiate  was  permanently  established  there,  and 

MThe  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  79. 
14  Op.  cit. 


Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools  107 

Baltimore  became  the  head  of  a  new  district  of 
the  Order.  The  novitiate  and  training  school 
were  first  opened  in  Calvert  Hall.  Brother 
Christian,  to  whom  this  result  was  chiefly  due, 
completed  the  work  by  securing  a  fine  property 
at  Ammendale,  near  the  outer  suburbs  of  Wash- 
ington. Here  the  novitiate  and  normal  school 
were  transferred,  after  the  erection  of  a  suitable 
building.  The  Baltimore  District  includes  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  States  farther  south. 
The  work  of  the  Brothers  in  Philadelphia  was 
begun  as  early  as  1853,  Bishop  Neumann,  like 
his  predecessor,  having  earnestly  solicited  their 
services.  The  first  Brothers  came  from  Canada, 
and  took  charge  of  the  Assumption  School.  From 
this,  they  took  charge  of  other  parish  schools, 
an  academy  being  opened  at  St.  Michael's  in  1862, 
and  La  Salle  College,  five  years  later.  Parish 
schools  were  also  taught  in  the  larger  cities  of 
New  Jersey,  as  well  as  in  the  States  to  the  south. 
A  number  of  industrial  schools  were  founded,  one 
of  these  being  an  institution  for  colored  boys 
situated  at  Belmead,  Powhatan  County,  Va. 
High  schools  were  established  at  Cumberland, 
Md.,  and  Augusta,  Ga.  Several  collegiate  institu- 
tions, in  addition  to  those  mentioned,  were 
founded  in  this  district,  notable  among  which  is 
Rock  Hill  College,  near  Baltimore,  with  which  the 
celebrated  Brother  Azarias  was  long  connected, 
Calvert  Hall  College,  Baltimore,  and  St.  John's 
College,  Washington.16 

15  Op.  cit. ;  Hist.  Sketches  of  the  Cath.  Chs.  in  Phila.,  pp. 
177,  186;  Memorandum  on  the  founding  of  the  first  schools 
of  the  Brothers  in  Phila.,  in  possession  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  P.  R. 
McDevitt. 


io8    Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

Bishop  Peter  Kenrick,  of  St.  Louis,  shared  the 
zeal  and  enthusiasm  of  his  illustrious  brother,  the 
Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  for  Catholic  schools,  and 
the  year  following  the  arrival  of  the  Christian 
Brothers  in  New  York,  he  secured  a  colony  of 
three  for  his  diocese.  With  the  staunch  support 
and  encouragement  of  the  bishop,  the  Christian 
Brothers  College  was  soon  founded  by  the  com- 
munity, in  addition  to  their  taking  charge  of  sev- 
eral parish  schools.  Under  the  direction  of 
Brother  Patrick,  this  institution  took  a  leading 
place  among  the  Catholic  colleges  of  the  land, 
and  became  the  chief  center  of  the  influence  of 
the  Brothers  in  the  West.  So  promising  was  the 
prospect,  that  a  novitiate  was  opened  in  1866,  the 
bishop  donating  the  old  Seminary  property  at 
Carondelet  for  the  purpose.  The  novitiate  and 
normal  school  were  subsequently  removed  to  their 
present  location  at  Glencoe.  Of  great  importance 
for  Catholic  education  in  the  far  Southwest  was 
the  foundation  of  St.  Michael's  College,  at  Santa 
Fe,  in  1859,  the  long  and  dangerous  journey 
across  the  plains  from  Missouri  being  made  by 
wagon.  Besides  the  college  at  Santa  Fe,  both 
secondary  and  elementary  schools  have  been 
established  at  Bernalillo  and  Las  Vegas.  Other 
colleges  were  established  at  St.  Joseph,  Missouri, 
and  Nashville,  Tennessee.  A  series  of  prosperous 
secondary  schools  was  also  developed  in  the  West. 
St.  Patrick's  Commercial  Academy,  Chicago, 
dates  from  the  year  1860.  Another  large  sec- 
ondary school,  De  La  Salle  Institute,  was  opened 
in  Chicago  more  recently.  High  schools  or  com- 
mercial colleges  were  erected  at  St.  Joseph 


Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools  109 

and  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  at  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
apolis, and  Duluth.18  The  St.  Louis  District  com- 
prises all  the  territory  west  of  Chicago,  as  far  as 
the  Pacific  Coast  States. 

The  work  of  the  Brothers  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
was  begun  in  1868,  when  the  superior-general, 
yielding  to  the  requests  of  Bishop  Alemany,  sent 
Brother  Justin  with  seven  companions  from  New 
York  to  take  charge  of  the  newly  founded  St. 
Mary's  College,  San  Francisco,  and  to  form  a 
new  district  of  the  Order.  The  college  leaped  at 
once  into  public  recognition  and  favor.  Subse- 
quently, it  was  transferred  to  Oakland.  In  1897, 
the  normal  institute  was  established  near  Mar- 
tinez, on  a  beautiful  site,  amid  vineyards  and 
olive-groves.  Besides  Si:.  Mary's  College,  several 
parish  schools  were  taken  in  charge  by  the  Broth- 
ers, in  San  Francisco  and  other  places.  The  drift 
of  the  work  of  the  community  in  the  district,  how- 
ever, has  been  towards  secondary  rather  than 
primary  education,  and  a  number  of  large  sec- 
ondary schools  have  been  developed,  chief  among 
which  are  the  Sacred  Heart  College,  at  San  Fran- 
cisco; St.  Joseph's  Academy,  Berkeley,  and  the 
Christian  Brothers  College,  at  Sacramento. 
Farther  north,  high  schools  have  been  established 
at  Portland  and  Vancouver.17 

Altogether,  in  the  four  districts,  there  were 
1091  Brothers  in  1910,  with  about  31,000  pupils. 
In  the  New  York  District,  the  community  has 
charge  of  45  parochial  and  18  complete  secondary 
schools. 

"The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  86;    Cath.  World, 
LXXIII,  loc.  cit.;    Cath.  Dir. 
"On.  cit. 


no    Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

These  figures,  along  with  the  sketch  that  has 
just  been  given  of  the  expansion  of  the  community, 
show  that,  notwithstanding  the  special  difficulties 
confronting  the  teaching  brotherhoods,  the  Broth- 
ers of  the  Christian  Schools  have  had  a  steady 
and  vigorous  growth,  surpassing,  in  fact,  the 
growth  of  most  of  the  congregations  of  priests. 
They  have  had  a  commanding  influence  in  the 
development  of  Catholic  high  schools.  Their 
organization,  like  that  of  the  Jesuits  and  some  of 
the  larger  sisterhoods,  is  really  country-wide,  and 
each  of  the  four  provinces  has,  together  with  a 
distinct  field  of  work,  an  autonomy  and  a  responsi- 
bility of  its  own. 

There  are  several  factors  that  stand  out  very 
prominently  when  one  looks  for  the  causes  that 
have  produced  these  results.  One  is,  the  influence 
of  strong,  forceful  far-seeing,  attractive  person- 
ality. This  influence,  as  has  been  shown,  has  been 
the  making  of  the  greater  communities  of  women. 
Conspicuous  among  the  pioneer  builders  of  the 
Order's  greatness  are  Brothers  Facile  and  Patrick. 
The  former,  being  sent  over  by  the  superior-gen- 
eral soon  after  the  inauguration  of  the  work  in 
New  York,  assumed  the  direction,  as  provincial, 
of  the  community  both  in  Canada  and  the  United 
States.  With  an  eye  that  seemed  to  see  clearly 
into  the  distant  future,  and  an  energy  and  enthusi- 
asm that  could  have  sprung  only  from  religious 
fervor,  Brother  Facile  devoted  himself  for 
twenty-five  years  to  the  work  of  organization. 
He  mapped  out  the  field,  selected  the  great  cen- 
ters, and  sent  men  to  each  who  appeared  to  have 
been  born  to  their  tasks.  When  he  withdrew 


Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools 


in 


from  the  work,  he  left  behind  him,  in  Canada  and 
in  this  country,  seventy-six  establishments,  one 
thousand  Brothers,  and  upwards  of  thirty-six 
thousand  pupils.18 

Brother  Patrick  was  a  worthy  successor  to 
Brother  Facile,  as  he  had  been  the  latter's  right 
hand  in  the  administration  for  many  years  before. 
A  brilliant  mind  and  a  great  teacher,  Brother  Pat- 
rick was,  at  the  same  time,  a  great  organizer.  He 
possessed,  to  a  singular  degree,  the  power  of  at- 
tracting the  interest  and  sympathies  of  men.  He 
not  only  carried  on  successfully  the  great  work  of 
his  predecessor,  but  completed  and  perfected  it. 
It  might  be  said,  indeed,  that  what  Brother  Facile 
did  for  the  material  growth  of  the  community, 
Brother  Patrick  did  for  its  academic  develop- 
ment. As  the  head,  first  of  the  college  at  St. 
Louis,  and  afterwards  of  Manhattan  College, 
New  York,  he  raised  the  standing  of  each  within 
a  few  years  to  such  a  degree  that  they  easily 
rivaled  the  strongest  and  oldest  Catholic  colleges. 
And  in  a  higher  order  of  activity,  subsequently, 
as  superior  of  the  province  and  as  assistant- 
superior-general,  his  influence  continued  to  be  firm 
and  active  in  the  same  direction,  his  aim  being 
particularly  directed  towards  raising  the  standard 
of  scholarship  in  the  entire  community,  by  a  more 
thorough  and  extended  training  in  the  normal 
schools. 

An  easily  discernible  factor  in  the  growth  of 
the  community  has  been  its  organization  and 
spirit.  The  Institute  of  the  Christian  Brothers 
came  to  America  not  only  fully  organized,  but 

18  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  77;    circular. 


H2     Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

with  nearly  two  centuries  of  experience  behind  it. 
Its  rules  and  constitutions  provided  for  almost 
every  contingency.  Initiative  was  needed,  but  in 
the  opening  of  new  establishments,  the  organizing 
of  new  provinces,  or  in  the  carrying  on  of  the 
daily  school-room  work,  the  broad  outlines  of 
what  was  to  be  done  were  to  be  found  already 
traced  out  in  the  rules.  And  along  with  this 
highly  developed  organization,  the  early  Christian 
Brothers  naturally  brought  with  them  the  morale 
which  had  been  derived  from  the  historic  achieve- 
ments of  the  Order  in  the  Old  World. 

A  most  important  element,  too,  in  the  growth 
and  success  of  the  community  has  been  its  system 
of  training  the  candidates  for  teaching.  In  each 
of  its  provinces  in  this  country,  there  is  a  normal 
school  establishment,  including  three  distinct 
houses:  a  preparatory  college,  a  novitiate,  and  a 
normal  school  proper.  In  the  latter,  the  candi- 
dates, after  having  already  gone  over  the  matter 
they  are  to  teach,  devote  several  years  to  a 
thorough  pedagogic  preparation  for  teaching,  in- 
cluding a  review  of  the  matter  already  seen,  a 
study  of  more  advanced  subjects,  a  study  of  edu- 
cational history,  and  of  the  science  and  art  of 
teaching.  The  rules  thus  provide  for  a  thorough 
training  of  the  teacher  for  his  work.  It  was 
adherence  to  these  rules  that  gave  to  the  Order 
in  the  United  States  so  many  brilliant  teachers, 
and  that  fitted  even  the  ungifted  teacher  so  well 
for  the  work  he  was  called  upon  to  do  as  to  render 
him,  generally  speaking,  both  efficient  and 
faithful. 


Brothers  of  the  Sacred  Heart  (1847)  JI3 


BROTHERS    OF    THE    SACRED    HEART   (1847) 

One  of  the  results  of  the  educational  movement 
inaugurated  by  Bishop  Portier  at  Mobile,  Ala- 
bama, after  he  became  the  head  of  the  diocese 
in  1843,  was  tne  establishment  in  the  United 
States  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  who 
had  been  founded  at  Lyons  in  i82o.19  Through 
the  efforts  of  the  Rev.  John  S.  Bazin,  who  soon 
afterward  became  Bishop  of  Vincennes,  but  who 
was  at  the  time  vicar-general  of  Mobile,  a  colony 
cf  the  Brothers  was  secured  for  the  diocese, 
where  they  arrived  in  1847,  opening  a  free  school 
in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Mobile.  They  also 
took  charge  of  the  orphan  asylum.  The  first 
teachers  of  the  Order  in  the  United  States  were 
Brothers  Athanasius,  Alphonse,  David,  and 
Placide.  There  were  urgent  calls  for  the  Broth- 
ers from  other  dioceses,  and  in  1854  a  college  and 
school  were  opened  at  Bay  St.  Louis,  Miss.,  in 
the  Diocese  of  Natchez.  In  the  course  of  time, 
schools  were  opened  at  Natchez,  Vicksburg  and 
Meridian  in  the  Diocese  of  Natchez,  and  at  New 
Orleans,  Baton  Rouge,  Donaldsonville,  Alexan- 
dria, and  Mansura  in  Louisiana. 

A  broad  field  of  educational  service  and  a  prom- 
ising future  was  thus  opened  out  to  the  commu- 
nity in  the  South  when  the  Civil  War  came,  with 
all  its  calamitous  effects,  and  for  n  time  the  Broth- 
ers experienced  the  greatest  difficulty  in  carrying 
on  their  work.  After  the  war,  however,  they  took 

"For  the  work  of  Bishop  Portier,  cf.  Cath.  School  System 
in  U.  S.,  p,  296. 


1 14    Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

up  with  renewed  ardor  the  task  of  opening  new 
schools  and  developing  them  along  lines  de- 
manded by  the  needs  of  the  times,  and  their  work 
has  been  of  the  very  greatest  utility  in  the  further- 
ance of  Catholic  education  in  the  South.  From 
almost  the  very  beginning  they  have  given  special 
attention  to  secondary  education,  and  they  have 
established  a  number  of  important  institutions  of 
this  class  throughout  the  South.  Schools  were 
also  opened  in  the  North.  Under  Bishop  de  St. 
Palais,  they  took  charge  of  a  school  in  Indian- 
apolis; and  a  number  of  prosperous  schools,  both 
secondary  and  primary,  are  conducted  by  the 
Brothers  in  New  England.  But  most  of  the  teach- 
ers are  engaged  in  the  schools  in  the  South. 

A  novitiate  was  established  at  Mobile  in  1857, 
but  at  present  the  novitiate,  the  postulate,  and 
the  mother-house  of  the  community  for  the  United 
States  are  located  at  Metuchen,  N.  J.,  in  the 
Diocese  of  Trenton.  In  the  year  1900,  the 
houses  in  Canada  were  erected  into  a  separate 
province.  It  is  to  the  Province  of  Canada  that 
the  members  of  the  community  engaged  in  teach- 
ing in  the  dioceses  of  Manchester  and  Providence 
belong. 

In  1900,  there  were  225  Brothers  in  the  United 
States,  with  5  secondary  schools,  10  parish 
schools,  and  about  2700  pupils.20 

M  Records  of  the  mother-house,  Metuchen ;  Shea,  IV,  pp. 
280,  684;  Alerding,  Hist.  Diocese  Vincennes,  p.  208;  Cath. 
Dir.,  1910,  p.  762  and  passim. 


Franciscan  Brothers  (1847) 


FRANCISCAN    BROTHERS    (1847) 

One  of  the  most  zealous  and  active  of  the 
bishops  of  the  Immigration  Period  in  behalf  of 
Catholic  schools,  Bishop  O'Connor,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, brought  a  second  community  of  teaching 
Brothers  from  Ireland,  in  the  year  i84y.21  The 
Brothers  were  from  Mount  Bellew,  in  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Tuam.  A  college  was  established  at 
Loretto,  and  several  schools  were  opened  in  the 
diocese.  Another  college  was  subsequently  estab- 
lished at  Spalding,  Neb.  In  the  /ear  1910,  there 
were  67  members  belonging  to  this  community  in 
the  United  States.22 

Another  branch  of  the  same  Order  was  brought 
by  Bishop  Loughlin  to  Brooklyn,  in  1858.  Two 
Brothers  began  the  work  of  teaching,  but  they 
were  soon  joined  by  new  members.  Out  of  the 
first  humble  beginnings,  St.  Francis  College  has 
developed,  together  with  St.  Leonard's  Commer- 
cial Academy,  also  in  Brooklyn,  and  over  a  dozen 
parish  schools.  St.  Francis  Academy  is  chartered 
as  the  preparatory  department  of  the  college. 
The  novitiate  is  located  at  Centerport,  Long 
Island.  There  were  76  Brothers  in  this  commu- 
nity, in  1910,  with  an  enrollment  of  over  8000 
pupils.23 

21  Cf.  Introduction  to  present  chapter. 

"  Lambing,  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  Dioceses  of  Pittsburgh  and 
Allegheny,  p.  4/4;  Cath.  Dir. 

"Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  172;  Cath.  Dir.;  Free- 
man's Journal,  Mar.  2,  1907. 


n6    Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 


BROTHERS     OF     MARY    (1849) 

The  Brothers  of  Mary  were  induced  to  come 
to  the  United  States  through  the  influence  of  the 
Rev.  Clement  Hammer,  pastor  of  Holy  Trinity 
Church,  Cincinnati,  a  parish  that  was  one  of  the 
historic  school  centers  of  the  pioneer  West.  The 
Rev.  Leo  Meyer  and  four  teaching  Brothers, 
Andrew  Edel,  John  B.  Stintzi,  Maximin  Zehler, 
and  Damian  Litz,  arrived  at  Cincinnati  from 
Alsace,  December  3,  i849-24  The  Brothers  began 
at  once  the  work  of  teaching.  Father  Meyer,  who 
was  the  superior,  purchased  a  large  estate  near 
Dayton,  the  following  year,  and  here  the  mother- 
house  was  permanently  established.  A  day  school 
was  first  opened,  but  boarders  were  afterwards 
also  received.  This  was  the  germ  of  St.  Mary's 
Institute,  an  institution  comprising  a  college  and  a 
preparatory  school,  and  the  most  important  estab- 
lishment of  the  Brothers  in  this  country.  A  nor- 
mal school  and  novitiate  were  also  opened  at  the 
mother-house. 

The  Society  of  Mary  of  Paris — the  name  proper 
of  the  community — is  composed  of  priests  and  lay 
brothers;  but  the  latter  far  outnumber  the  former, 
and  devote  themselves  by  preference  to  the  work 
of  the  primary  school.  Although  this  has  been 
the  special  aim,  the  Brothers  engaged  in  elemen- 
tary teaching  have,  nevertheless,  felt  the 
strong  tide  of  popular  sentiment  for  the  establish- 
ment of  Catholic  secondary  schools.  The  com- 
munity has  borne  a  leading  part  in  the  high  school 

24  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  94;  Cath.  Dir. 


Brothers  of  Mary  (1849)  JI7 

movement,  principally  by  the  development  of  high 
school  grades  in  connection  with  its  parish  schools. 
Its  influence  in  this  way  is  shown  by  the  fact  that, 
out  of  the  forty-three  parish  schools  in  charge  of 
the  Brothers,  twenty-seven  contain  one  or  more 
high  school  grades.  In  addition,  they  conduct 
several  fully  equipped  secondary  schools.25 

The  first  mission  of  the  society  was  at  San 
Antonio,  Texas,  and  was  undertaken  in  1852,  at 
the  instance  of  Bishop  Odin.  Apart  from  this, 
however,  the  schools  taught  by  the  Brothers 
during  their  first  twenty  years  in  America  were 
nearly  all  in  Ohio,  and  the  work  was  concentrated 
chiefly  in  Cincinnati  and  Cleveland.  At  the 
mother-house,  the  various  institutions  were  de- 
veloped, vocations  were  received  and  trained,  and 
thus  the  number  of  teachers  greatly  increased. 
The  four  pioneer  Brothers  were  the  pillars  upon 
which  the  steadily  enlarging  structure  of  the  com- 
munity rested.  Brother  Zehler  devoted  himself 
chiefly  to  the  building  up  of  St.  Mary's  Institute, 
at  the  mother-house.  Brother  Edel  was  the 
founder  and  long  the  president  of  the  institution 
at  San  Antonio.  Brother  Stintzi  founded  and 
directed  many  of  the  parish  schools  opened  by 
the  community  in  Ohio  during  the  first  twenty 
years.  In  recognition  of  his  successful  school 
work,  he  was  appointed  inspector  of  primary  in- 
struction, and  during  the  ensuing  seventeen  years 
he  labored  to  raise  the  standards  both  of  the 
schools  and  of  the  teaching.  Brother  Litz  is  dis- 
tinguished, in  the  annals  of  the  Order,  by  the  wide 
extension  he  gave  to  its  educational  work.  After 
*  Op.  cit. 


n8     Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

laboring  in  Wisconsin  for  a  year,  he  founded  St. 
John's  Cathedral  School  at  Cleveland,  in  1857. 
Thence  he  went  to  Rochester,  in  1864;  and  after 
founding  a  school  at  New  Orleans,  he  taught  at 
Baltimore,  New  York  City,  and  Paterson. 
Brother  Litz  contributed  educational  articles  to 
the  Catholic  press,  and  was  one  of  the  foremost 
educators  the  Order  has  produced.26 

The  period  of  active  expansion,  which  began  in 
1869,  was  continued  through  the  provincialship  of 
the  Rev.  J.  N.  Reinbolt,  whose  twenty-one  years 
of  administration  were  marked  by  so  many  new 
establishments  that  he  is  regarded  by  many  as  a 
second  founder  of  the  province.27  The  movement 
of  expansion  went  on  during  the  administrations 
of  Fathers  Beck  and  George  Meyer.  Schools 
were  founded  even  in  Mexico  and  Manitoba,  and 
a  college  and  several  schools  on  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  Of  the  new  establishments,  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul's  School,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  St.  Louis  Col- 
lege, San  Antonio;  Spalding  Institute,  Peoria,  and 
St.  Mary's  School,  Dubuque,  are  institutions  of 
secondary  education.  In  San  Antonio,  St.  Mary's 
College  was  reserved  for  day  scholars,  with  the 
building  of  the  new  St.  Louis  College,  outside  of 
the  city,  for  boarders.  In  1907,  the  western 
houses  of  the  community  were  organized  into  a 
separate  province,  the  mother-house  of  which  was 
located  at  Clayton,  Mo.,  where  a  normal  school 
was  opened. 

The  high  repute  of  the  Brothers  of  Mary  as 

28  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  96. 

"Ib.,  p.  97- 

28  Ib. 


Xaverian  Brothers  (1854)  119 

teachers  has  been  due,  not  only  to  the  careful 
training  the  rules  provide  for  in  the  normal 
school,  but  also  to  the  system  of  inspection  and 
supervision  that  obtains  with  reference  to  those 
actually  engaged  in  teaching.  For  the  office  of 
inspector  of  instruction,  the  ablest  and  most  ex- 
perienced teachers  have  been  selected,  and  the 
work  of  the  inspector  has  borne  abundant  fruit 
in  the  improvement  of  methods  of  teaching. 
The  pioneer,  Brother  Stintzi,  was  succeeded 
in  this  office  by  Brother  J.  B.  Kim,  whose 
qualities  and  experience  as  a  teacher  were  rein- 
forced by  a  zeal  and  energy  that  never  flagged. 
For  a  period  of  almost  twenty  years,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  duties  of  the  inspectorship,  making 
the  round  of  the  numerous  schools,  in  the  con- 
stant effort  to  improve  the  methods  and  teaching. 
It  is  to  him,  perhaps,  more  than  to  anyone  else, 
that  the  academic  advancement  of  the  community 
is  due.29 

In  1908,  the  society  counted  over  400  members 
in  the  United  States,  with  an  enrolment  of  up- 
wards of  12,000  pupils.30 

XAVERIAN    BROTHERS    (1854) 

The  community  of  the  Xaverian  Brothers  was 
founded  with  the  express  purpose  of  furnishing 
teaching  Brothers  to  the  United  States.  The 
founder,  Theodore  Ryken,  a  native  of  Holland, 
had  assisted  missionary  priests  in  this  country  by 
teaching  catechism.  Realizing  the  great  lack  of 
religious  teachers,  he  returned  to  Europe,  and,  on 

23  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  97. 
80  Ib.,  p.  98. 


i2o     Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

June  5,  1839,  organized  the  new  community  in 
Belgium.  Seven  years  later,  he  and  twelve  other 
young  men  made  the  religious  vows.  In  1848,  a 
house  was  established  in  England.31 

The  first  mission  of  the  Brothers  in  the  United 
States  was  in  the  Diocese  of  Louisville,  long 
known  as  the  Diocese  of  Bardstown.  Under 
Bishop  Flaget,  attempts  had  been  made  in  vain 
to  form  a  teaching  brotherhood.32  Bishop  Spald- 
ing,  however,  meeting  the  founder  of  the  new 
society  in  Bruges,  induced  him  to  send  a  colony  of 
the  religious  to  his  diocese.  The  founder,  who 
had  taken  the  name  of  Brother  Francis  Xavier, 
with  a  predilection  for  the  land  of  his  earlier  mis- 
sionary labors  came  himself,  accompanied  by  six 
Brothers,  the  party  arriving  at  Louisville,  Aug. 
n,  1854.  Two  parish  schools  were  at  once 
opened. 

The  early  years  of  the  community  in  Europe 
had  been  full  of  trial.  An  even  severer  ordeal 
awaited  it  in  America.  The  Know-I\Tothing  move- 
ment was  in  full  force,  and  the  faith  of  Louisville 
Catholics  was  being  tried  as  by  fire.  The  Broth- 
ers were  pursued  with  suspicion,  ridicule  and  in- 
sult, and  were  finally  forced  to  abandon  their 
home.  They  were  thereupon  recalled  to  Europe. 
Only  the  founder  remained  behind,  together  with 
Brother  Stephen,  who  had  joined  the  community 
soon  after  their  arrival,  and  who  is  therefore  re- 
garded as  the  pioneer  American  Brother.33  In 

"The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  p.  283. 

82  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  231. 

33  Brother  Stephen  died  in  IQII,  after  sixty-three  years  of 
active  service  in  the  comnv.-nity. — Cath.  School  Journal,  Oct., 
1911. 


Xaverian  Brothers  (1854)  121 

1860,  a  second  colony  arrived,  consisting  of  six 
members.  Two  new  schools  and  a  novitiate  were 
now  opened.  A  select  school  was  also  begun, 
which  developed  into  St.  Xavier's  College,  one  of 
the  most  important  Catholic  institutions  of  second- 
ary education  in  the  West. 

New  members  joined  the  Order  in  Louisville, 
and  the  Brothers  were  soon  able  to  found  other 
establishments.  The  first,  as  well  as  the  most 
influential  of  these,  was  at  Baltimore,  where  they 
were  invited  by  Bishop  Spalding,  when  he  was 
transferred  to  that  See,  and  where  they  took 
charge  of  St.  Mary's  Industrial  School.  They 
transferred  the  novitiate  to  Baltimore,  when 
America  was  recognized  as  a  province  of  the 
Order  in  1875,  and>  'm  connection  with  the  novi- 
tiate, established  Mt.  St.  Joseph's  College,  which 
became  the  mother-house.  Under  Brother  Alexius, 
the  first  provincial,  and  his  successors,  Brothers 
Dominic  and  Isadore,  the  work  of  the  Brothers 
has  been  successfully  extended.  They  have  had 
an  important  part  in  the  Catholic  high  school 
movement,  especially  in  Virginia,  where  they  con- 
duct secondary  schools  at  Richmond,  Norfolk, 
Fort  Monroe,  and  Newport  News.  At  Danvers, 
Mass.,  they  opened  a  preparatory  school  in  1907. 
They  have  also  charge  of  industrial  schools  in 
several  dioceses,  and  of  a  number  of  parish 
schools. 

There  are  preparatory  training  schools  for  can- 
didates for  the  community  at  Louisville,  Danvers, 
and  Baltimore.  After  completing  a  high  school 
course,  these  pursue  their  studies  for  some  time 
at  Mt.  St.  Joseph's  College,  whence  they  enter 


122     Teaching  Brothers  in  the  Immigration  Period 

the  novitiate.     During  the  novitiate,  lasting  two 
years,  their  studies  are  continued. 

In  1910,  there  were  250  Brothers  in  the  United 
States,  with  6425  pupils.34 

•*  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  3.  of  A.,  loc.  cit. ;  Cath.  Dir. 


CHAPTER  V 

SCHOOL  LIFE   AND  WORK   DURING  THE   IMMI- 
GRATION  PERIOD 

MATERIAL    EQUIPMENT 

ALL  THROUGH  the  Immigration  Period  pastors 
and  people  struggled  hard,  in  the  face  of  the 
gravest  difficulties,  to  improve  the  material  equip- 
ment of  the  schools.  By  the  term  "equipment" 
is  meant  chiefly  the  school  building  and  its  acces- 
sories, with  the  indispensable  requisites  for  the 
teaching  of  school,  such  as  benches  or  seats,  desks, 
blackboards,  and  the  arrangements  for  heat  and 
light.  The  curriculum  was  usually  very  simple, 
and  there  was  no  thought,  in  most  cases,  of  many 
of  those  material  accompaniments  to  class-room 
work  which  we  include  in  the  requisite  equipment 
of  the  school  to-day.  But  earnest  efforts  were 
made  to  improve  the  necessary  school  equipment, 
as  it  was  understood  at  that  time. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Immigration  Period 
many  of  the  best  parish  schools  in  the  East  were 
taught  in  church  basements,  while  in  the  West 
log  school-houses  were  still  far  from  uncommon. 
The  total  cost  of  all  the  Catholic  school  buildings 
in  the  State  of  New  York  in  the  year  1846  was 
probably  less  than  $50,000,  and  New  York  at 

123 


124  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

this  time  had  become  the  center  of  the  parish 
school  movement.1  It  did  not  cost  much  to  make 
school-rooms  in  the  basements  of  newly  erected 
churches.  Some  of  the  "splendid  cathedrals"  of 
the  time  were  erected  at  a  cost  no  greater  than 
that  of  modest  parish  churches  of  to-day.  With 
the  rapid  influx  of  immigrants,  and  the  growth  of 
the  Catholic  population,  separate  school  buildings 
began  to  multiply.  In  the  West,  this  movement 
was  naturally  of  slower  development.  The  church 
nave  was  often  used  for  school  purposes  on  week 
days,  as  was  the  case  in  Cleveland,  where  the  little 
frame  building,  60  by  30  feet,  erected  as  a  church 
in  1848,  was  made  to  serve  also  as  a  school,  the 
sanctuary  being  closed  from  view  by  folding 
doors.2  But  such  an  arrangement  did  not  usually 
last  very  long.  Separate  school  buildings  came 
sooner  or  later  with  the  growth  of  the  parishes, 
and  although  the  first  ones  were  rough-looking 
and  bare,  these  gave  way  in  turn,  after  some  years, 
to  structures  that  were  larger  and  better  adapted 
to  the  work  of  instructing  the  young.  From  the 
primitive  arrangement,  too,  of  teaching  boys  and 
girls  in  the  same  class-rooms  or  at  least  in  the 
same  building,  there  was  usually  a  tendency  to- 
wards the  complete  segregation  of  the  sexes,  by 
the  establishment  of  separate  boys'  and  girls' 
schools. 

'U.  S.  Cath.  Mag.,  V,  p.  170. 

2  Records  Amer.  Hist.  Soc.,  Ill,  p.  129. 


Religious  Atmosphere  125 


RELIGIOUS     ATMOSPHERE 

In  typical  Catholic  parish  schools,  the  curric- 
ulum during  this  period  consisted  of  the  tra- 
ditional "three  R's" — reading,  writing,  and  arith- 
metic, together  with  spelling,  grammar,  geography 
and  history.  In  girls'  schools,  the  Sisters  taught 
the  pupils  to  "use  the  needle  as  well  as  the  pen; 
to  make  and  to  mend;  to  darn  and  to  knit,  and 
become  useful  in  the  home."3  The  studies  in  Cath- 
olic schools  were,  generally  speaking,  the  same  as 
those  in  the  public  schools  about  them,  with  the 
exception,  of  course,  of  catechism.4  The  atmos- 
phere and  spirit  of  the  Catholic  school  was,  how- 
ever, peculiar  to  itself.  This  has  been  the  vital 
point  of  difference,  from  the  very  beginning, 
between  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  schools;  and, 
with  the  growth  of  the  great  teaching  communi- 
ties, and  the  replacement  of  lay  teachers  by 
religious,  this  difference  became  greater  and 
more  clearly  perceptible. 

As  typical  of  the  spirit  which  the  religious 
teacher  strove  to  foster  in  the  school,  the  follow- 
ing may  be  quoted  from  a  Teachers'  Manual  in 
use  at  the  time.  The  book  was  an  official  direc- 
tory for  a  teaching  community  which  occupied  a 
front  rank  and  was  establishing  schools  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  country: 

"The  training  of  the  heart,  the  head,  and  the 
hands  must  enter  into  our  scheme  of  education. 

8  Life  of  Mother  Warde,  p.  112. 

*  For  the  scope  of  these  studies  at  the  time,  the  methods 
employed  in  teaching  them,  and  the  results  achieved,  see  John- 
son, "  Old  Time  Schools  and  School-books." 


126  School  Life  and  Woik  During  the  Immigration  Period 

In  the  heart,  we  should  endeavor  to  cultivate  piety 
and  the  domestic  virtues,  as  charity,  patience, 
meekness,  and  self-denial;  in  the  mind,  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  branches  deemed  necessary  or  useful 
to  a  woman;  and  the  hands  we  should  train  to 
the  distinctively  feminine  accomplishment,  the  use 
of  the  needle. 

"Rule  by  kindness  rather  than  by  severity. 
Make  the  class-room  attractive.  Foster  the  self- 
respect  of  your  pupils,  and  excite  emulation  and 
the  hope  of  reward.  Deal  with  the  children  in- 
dividually. Corporal  punishment  is  forbidden. 

"Endeavor  to  instil  piety  into  the  hearts  of  your 
pupils.  Teach  them  how  to  pray,  and  show  them 
the  example.  Once  a  week,  oblige  each  child  in 
the  lower  grades  to  recite  alone  the  principal  vocal 
prayers.  In  the  higher  grades,  occasionally 
examine  the  pupils  in  the  same  manner.  Explain 
the  offices  of  the  Church,  especially  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  on  which  you  should  give 
an  instruction  once  a  week.  Each  day,  in  every 
class,  a  hymn  relating  to  the  mystery  or  devotion 
of  the  time  should  be  sung. 

"In  speaking  of  the  life  of  Our  Lord,  encourage 
the  children  to  show  their  love  for  Him  by  prac- 
tising acts  of  mortification  and  other  virtues.  In- 
spire your  pupils  with  a  noble  pride  in  being  chil- 
dren of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  teach  them  to 
follow  the  spirit  of  the  different  festivals  and  sea- 
sons of  the  ecclesiastical  year. 

"Make  pupils  self-reliant.  Teach  them  to  think 
and  act  for  themselves.  Encourage  the  dull  and 
timid,  rather  than  urge  forward  the  more  gifted 
children.  Require  the  exact  words  of  the  book 
in  the  recitation  of  prayers,  catechism,  and  the 
rules  of  grammar  and  arithmetic;  in  all  other 
branches  encourage  the  pupils  to  use  their  own 


Religious  Atmosphere  127 

language.  Reserve  the  place  of  honor  for  the 
essential  branches — reading,  writing,  spelling, 
arithmetic,  grammar,  history,  and  geography."5 

It  is  evident,  from  the  discussion  of  the  methods 
of  teaching  these  "essential  branches"  which  fol- 
lows in  the  Manual,  that  the  better  Catholic 
schools  of  this  period  were  fully  abreast  of  the 
best  non-Catholic  schools  of  the  time  in  respect  to 
the  secular  studies.  It  will  be  noted  that  besides 
the  giving  of  direct  catechetical  instruction,  which 
usually  occupied  half  an  hour  every  day,  it  was 
sought  to  foster  a  strong  devotional  Catholic 
atmosphere  by  the  singing  of  religious  hymns,  the 
explanation  of  the  liturgy,  and  instructions  on  the 
life  and  virtues  of  Christ.  Leading  Catholic 
educators  of  the  time  clearly  recognized,  too,  the 
importance  of  making  the  religious  instruction 
concrete  and  practical.  Thus,  we  are  told  that,  in 
the  catechetical  method  of  Mother  Warde, 

"The  children  were  taught,  with  much  precision, 
their  duties  to  God,  their  neighbor,  and  them- 
selves. Dry  facts  were  never  presented  to  the 
pupil.  Every  truth  was  illustrated  by  some  beau- 
tiful example  or  soul-stirring  story.  Truth  and 
sincerity  were  strongly  fostered,  while  every  effort 
was  used  to  stamp  out  falsehood  and  deceit.  The 
children  were  shown  the  manner  in  which  the 
Christian  virtues  may  be  practised  and  the 
opposite  vices  uprooted."6 

6 From  the  "Course  of  Studies"  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  of  Namur,  whose  mother-house  was  established  in  Cin- 
cinnati ;  quoted  from  "  Origin  of  the  Cath.  Ch.  in  Salem " 
(Mass.),  by  Rt.  Rev.  Louis  S.  Walsh,  p.  105  seq. 

"Mother  M.  Xavier  Warde,  p.  no;  cf.  also  the  Lives  of 
Mother  Caroline  Friess  and  Sister  Louise. 


128  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

But  what  of  the  religious  instruction  in  boys' 
schools?  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  religious 
communities  of  women — whose  system  and  meth- 
ods of  religious  instruction  are  represented  in  the 
above  quotations — often  had  charge  also  of  the 
younger  boys.  For  the  teaching  brotherhoods,  we 
may  take  as  typical  the  work  of  the  Christian 
Brothers  in  one  of  the  schools  they  founded  dur- 
ing this  period.  Writing  of  his  school  days  in  the 
early  '5o's,  one  of  the  best  known  priests  of  our 
time  has  left  us  the  following  impressions  of  the 
religious  instruction  imparted  by  the  Brothers: 

"Their  system  was  intelligent,  their  discipline 
strict — almost  military,  their  affection  for  us  deep 
and  religious.  But  of  course  I  love  them  best  for 
the  Christian-doctrine  course  they  gave  me.  No 
word  describes  it  so  well  as  the  word  'thorough.' 
It  was  given  us  by  men  who  knew  what  they 
taught,  and  had  the  gift  of  teaching  intelligently. 
It  embraced  a  full  summary  of  the  whole  dog- 
matic system  of  Christian  truth;  a  practical, 
working  knowledge  of  Christian  morality;  much 
ecclesiastical  history,  especially  concerning  the 
early  and  heroic  age  of  the  Church  and  the  acts 
of  the  martyrs;  together  with  a  wonderfully  full 
equipment  of  controversial  matter.  When,  in 
after  years,  I  swung  off  into  the  world  and  was 
beset  with  its  false  maxims,  the  Brothers'  maxims 
held  me  fast  in  the  true  religion.  This  had  more 
than  anything  else  to  do  with  keeping  alive  in  me 
the  elements  of  divine  faith.  I  have  no  hesitation 
whatever  in  saying  that  the  fact  that  I  spent  those, 
years  of  my  boyhood  in  the  Brothers'  school  has 
been  the  main  reason  why  I  have  remained  a 
Catholic.  .  .  .  If  I  wished  to  emphasize  any 


Teachers  and  Pupils  129 

quality  in  them  it  would  be  their  manliness.  They 
were  courageous,  generous,  honorable  men,  and 
their  influence  was  all  bent  on  making  us  manly 
Catholics.7 

Not  all  the  schools,  however,  were  taught  by 
religious.  Some  of  the  secular  teachers  were  but 
ill  prepared  to  impart  religious  instruction  effect- 
ively; yet,  in  many  cases,  Catholic  secular  teach- 
ers strove  successfully  to  foster  a  strongly  relig- 
ious atmosphere,  as  may  be  illustrated  by  the  fol- 
lowing description  of  a  school  taught  by  a  young 
lady  at  Littlestown,  Pa.,  in  1867.  The  school 
contained  55  boys  and  65  girls. 

"The  school  was  thoroughly  religious.  The 
classes  began  with  prayer,  and  on  Wednesday  and 
Friday  afternoon  some  one  of  the  scholars  said 
the  beads,  to  which  the  whole  school  answered.  It 
was  usual  to  have  one  of  the  boys  read  aloud  some 
book  on  etiquette,  or  on  some  entertaining  or  re- 
ligious subject  while  the  girls  were  engaged  in 
sewing."8 


TEACHERS     AND     PUPILS 

As  the  pioneer  religious  from  the  communities 
of  Continental  Europe  did  not  know  English,  it 
might  be  supposed  that  this  would  prove  a  serious 
drawback  to  the  efficiency  of  their  early  work  as 
teachers.  A  drawback  it  undoubtedly  was;  and, 
since  teachers  continued  to  come  from  abroad, 

7  The  Rev.  Walter  Elliott,  C.S.P.,  in  Cath.  World,  Vol. 
LXXIII,  p.  728,  supplemented  by  letter  to  the  author,  Oct.  3, 
1909- 

'Hist  of  St.     Aloysius'    Church,  Littlestown,  Pa.,  p.  53. 


130  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

the  condition  often  lasted  for  some  time.  But  the 
difficulty  was  really  not  so  great.  Native  postu- 
lants were  soon  received.  Catholics  were  eager 
to  have  the  Brothers  and  Sisters  in  their  schools, 
even  though  fresh  from  Germany  or  France. 
These,  in  turn,  realizing  the  opportunity  and  the 
need,  labored  heroically  to  acquire  the  language 
of  their  adopted  country.  Often,  indeed,  they 
took  up  the  work  of  teaching  in  English-speaking 
schools  after  being  in  the  country  only  a  few 
weeks.  The  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  of  Namur, 
for  instance,  reached  Cincinnati  Oct.  30,  1840, 
and  on  the  i8th  of  January  following  they  opened 
school,  only  one  of  the  band  of  eight  being  able  to 
speak  English  fluently.  The  case  was  typical, 
and  it  was  met  by  most  of  the  immigrant  communi- 
ties in  much  the  same  way.  The  various  branches 
of  study  were  distributed  among  the  Sisters 
in  Cincinnati,  we  are  told,  according  to  the  degree 
in  which  each  excelled  in  them,  one  teaching  writ- 
ing, another  painting,  one  music,  and  another 
needle-work.  The  Sister  who  could  speak  Eng- 
lish went  from  class  to  class  in  order  to  help, 
until  the  teachers  had  acquired  enough  of  English 
to  talk  with  their  pupils.  The  pupils,  on  their 
part,  were  eager  to  help  out. 

"Sometimes  a  Sister  vould  leave  the  room  and, 
returning  with  a  slate,  read  from  it  what  she 
wished  to  say.  Many  were  their  amusing  blun- 
ders; as,  for  instance,  when  one  wished  to  tell 
her  pupils  to  erase  something  from  the  black- 
board, she  said,  'Raise  that  from  the  board!' 
Having  been  told  of  her  error,  she  resolved  to 
use  the  simpler  words,  'Rub  it  out  P  The  follow- 


Teachers  and  Pupils  131 

ing  day  she  said,  with  some  assurance,  'Rip  that 
out  from  the  board!'  and  one  mischievous  child 
took  a  pair  of  scissors  and  pretended  to  obey. 
Daily  the  pupils  were  told  to  'get  into  their 
desks.'  "  9 

Even  Catholic  children,  in  seeing  the  Sisters 
for  the  first  time,  gazed  with  awe  upon  them,  as 
though  beings  come  from  some  superior  world.  A 
pupil  of  the  pioneer  school  of  the  School  Sisters 
of  Notre  Dame  in  Milwaukee,  has  left  us  a  pic- 
ture of  her  first  religious  teacher,  with  a  recollec- 
tion of  her  first  impressions: 

uHer  large  rosary  cross,  as  it  swung  by  her  side, 
was  the  first  thing  to  attract  our  attention.  With 
timid,  silent  wonder  we  regarded  the  stately  Sis- 
ter, as,  bright  and  smiling,  she  stood  before  us. 
Perceiving  our  curiosity,  she  presently  remarked : 
'Yes,  dear  children,  take  a  good  look  at  me,  with 
eyes  and  mouths  open.'  Somewhat  abashed,  the 
elder  pupils  cast  down  their  eyes,  but  the  little 
ones  persisted  in  scrutinizing  their  first  School 
Sister,  in  her  black  robe  with  wide  sleeves,  her 
strange  head-dress  and  large  rosary  cross."  10 

This  was  a  German  school,  with  German  Sisters, 
and  there  was  here,  of  course,  no  difficulty  about 
the  language.  In  Milwaukee,  however,  as  in  other 
cities  at  the  time,  the  Know-Nothing  agitation 
made  it  unsafe  for  the  Sisters  to  appear  in  their 
religious  garb  on  the  street.  In  this  school, 

"A  dark  corner  was  partitioned  off,  to  serve  as 
a  little  dressing-room  for  the  Sisters.  At  that 

9  Memoirs  of  Sister  Louise,  pp.  46,  56. 

10  Mother  Caroline  Friess,  p.  121. 


132  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

time  they  could  not  even  cross  the  street  in  their 
religious  dress.  Here,  too,  they  partook  of  their 
meager  dinner  of  soup  and  vegetables  brought 
from  the  convent  in  a  tin  pail."  " 

The  communities  which  came  from  Ireland  pos- 
sessed a  great  advantage,  in  their  knowledge  of 
English,  over  the  communities  from  the  continent 
of  Europe,  and  the  schools  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
reached  a  high  degree  of  efficiency  from  the  very 
beginning.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  importance 
attached  by  these  well  trained  Sisters  to  object- 
teaching,  in  even  those  pioneer  days.  Their  first 
school  in  Chicago,  founded  in  1846,  at  the  corner 
of  Michigan  and  Madison  Streets,  soon  boasted 
of  quite  a  collection  of  home-made  apparatus  to 
accompany  class  and  recitation-work.  On  parch- 
ment, which  was  sent  by  friends  in  Ireland,  the 
Sisters  sketched  maps  of  the  different  countries, 
in  a  series  adapted  to  the  different  grades  or 
classes.  For  globes  they  made  sphere-frames  of 
willow  branches,  and  over  this  material  they 
fastened  parchment  upon  which  was  sketched  the 
map-work  of  the  hemispheres.  Blackboards  were 
made  of  planed  timber  formed  in  squares,  which 
were  fastened  to  the  wall  and  painted.  Numeral- 
frames  were  formed  of  delicate  elm  framework, 
with  strings  of  wire  stretched  horizontally,  on 
which  were  strung  small  spools  painted  in  the 
primary  colors.  In  this  old  wooden  building  in 
pioneer  Chicago,  we  are  told  that 

"The  community-room,  with  its  rough  board 
walls,  was  a  veritable  ware-house  of  school  sup- 

11  Mother  Caroline   Friess,  p.  125. 


Teachers  and  Pupils  133 

plies.  In  variety  and  design  to  suit  all  wants 
might  be  seen  hand-made  maps  and  charts,  solar 
systems  and  globes,  ball-frames  and  color  plans; 
squares,  cubes,  cones,  cylinders,  and  all  the  neces- 
saries for  teaching  form;  collections  of  minerals, 
sponges,  coral,  etc.,  and  specimens  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom  for  object-lessons;  cardboard, 
paints,  brushes,  mucilage,  scrap-books,  and  other 
school  paraphernalia."  12 

In  view  of  the  advanced  methods  employed  by 
these  Sisters,  and  the  careful  training  they  had 
received,  it  is  not  surprising  that  Mother  Warde 
was  pressed  with  demands  from  all  sides  to  open 
schools.  Yet,  among  their  first  pupils  in  Chicago 
were  "children  of  trappers,  border-men,  hardy 
settlers,  and  sea-faring  men,"  while  a  class  of 
Indians  was  formed  for  instruction  in  Christian 
doctrine.13 

School-teaching,  even  in  the  cities,  was  a  trying 
occupation  in  those  days.  In  the  smaller  towns 
and  country  districts,  it  often  involved  hardships 
comparable  with  those  endured  by  the  sturdy 
pioneers  who  formed  the  first  infant  settlements 
in  the  West.  Where  the  school-teacher  was  a 
Sister,  this  was  especially  apt  to  be  the  case,  be- 
cause to  poverty  and  privation  there  was  added 
a  social  isolation  which  would  have  rendered  the 
life  unendurable,  except  for  the  transforming 
influence  of  the  religious  spirit.  Usually,  two 
or  three  Sisters  were  sent  to  the  smaller  places. 
Some  glimpses  of  the  teacher's  life  under  such 
circumstances  may  be  had  from  a  description  of 

"Mother  M.  Xavier  Warde,  p.  141. 
13  Ibid. 


134  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

school-teaching  at  New  Diggins,  Wis.,  in  the  '6o's 
and  'yo's,  by  a  Sister  of  St.  Dominic.  The  place 
was  practically  a  Catholic  settlement;  and  the 
teachers,  although  religious,  were  paid  by  the 
state. 

"It  was  a  small  mining  town  of  one  short  street 
and  a  wide  prairie  full  of  mineral  holes.  Our 
abode  was  a  cottage  of  four  rooms,  and  our  furni- 
ture was  all  that  the  heart  of  an  anchorite  could 
desire.  A  fervent  zeal  and  an  enthusiasm  so 
ardent  that  it  still  glows  and  often  bursts  into 
flame  carried  me  through  the  first  three  months  of 
the  school  year,  and  then  I  had  to  summon  up  all 
the  courage  I  had  inherited  from  my  Puritan  fore- 
fathers, for  from  the  farms  round  about  the  little 
town  there  came  to  me  the  stalwart  youths  who 
worked  in  summer  and  went  to  school  in  winter. 

"Poor  little  me  !  How  they  towered  above  me  ! 
How  big  and  strong  and  invincible  they  seemed; 
but  how  gentle,  simple,  and  submissive  they 
proved  to  be.  How  eager  they  were  to  learn,  and 
how  respectful  they  were,  because  I  was  a  woman, 
but  more  because  I  wore  the  religious  garb. 

"And  so  Sister  and  I  ploughed  our  way,  on  the 
bitter  winter  mornings,  through  the  old  fashioned 
depth  of  snow,  to  the  queer,  roughly  built  school- 
house,  and  did  our  best  for  our  simple  hearted 
charges.  At  noon  we  ploughed  our  way  back  to 
our  icy  cold  cottage,  built  a  fire  in  our  tiny  stove, 
made  a  cup  of  tea,  consumed  it  and  a  goodly  slice 
of  bread  and  butter  with  an  appetite  that  regarded 
quantity  rather  than  quality.  I  remember  that  we 
had  only  one  knife  and  one  teaspoon,  but  were 
quite  rich  in  the  possession  of  two  forks  and  two 
small  cups  and  saucers  (one  pink  and  the  other 


Teachers  and  Pupils  135 

blue),  also  three  plates  and  a  few  other  odds  and 
ends  of  table  furnishings. 

"Lonely?  Never!  We  were  too  busy,  and 
then,  in  the  little  frame  church,  so  very  near  to 
us,  was  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

"It  is  amazing  how  attached  I  became  to  that 
seemingly  desolate  place.  To  be  busy  about  the 
things  of  God  is  a  wonderful  heart  tonic.  Our 
boys  and  girls  claimed  our  attention  all  day,  and 
some  of  the  boys  came  to  the  cottage  in  the  even- 
ing to  do  extra  work  in  bookkeeping  and  business 
arithmetic. 

"My  hardy  masculine  pupils  came  long  dis- 
tances, over  almost  impassable  country  roads,  and 
they  were  boots — 'boots' — capitalized  and  empha- 
sized. To  the  sturdy  calfskin  footgear,  with  the 
hob-nailed  soles,  the  yellow  clay  of  the  locality 
clung  in  heavy  masses  and  was  finally  plastered 
over  the  great  rough  planks  of  our  schoolroom 
floor."  " 

Whether  engaged  in  teaching  in  cities,  towns  or 
country  places,  the  Sister's  life  was,  then  and  now, 
a  life  of  intense  activity — far  more  so  than  that 
of  the  lay  teacher;  for  besides  school  work,  there 
were,  in  the  case  of  the  former,  religious  exercises 
and  various  other  duties  and  observances  incident 
to  the  community  life.  Vacation  brought  its  own 
round  of  activities,  less  irksome  and  monotonous, 
and  enlivened  by  a  larger  companionship,  for 
vacation  was  generally  spent  at  the  mother-house, 
but  with  little  opportunity  for  idle  hours.  Writing 
from  the  famous  academy  at  Emmittsburg,  in 

"Sister  Charles  Borromeo,  O.S.D.,  Little  Essays  for 
Friendly  Readers,  p.  207;  The  Cath.  School  Journal,  Jan., 
1907,  p.  236. 


136  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

1848,  a  Sister  of  Charity  has  left  us  a  description 
of  her  life  as  a  teacher  which  may  be  taken  as  a 
fair  illustration  of  the  activity  of  the  average 
religious  teacher,  whether  engaged  in  academy  or 
school  work: 

"At  one  time  school  is  commencing  and  every- 
thing has  to  be  arranged  in  'apple-pie  order,'  as 
regards  studies  and  classes,  etc.,  etc.,  and  as  soon 
as  the  way  is  clear,  come  the  preparations  for 
Mother's  Day  and  the  Play — which  important 
events  fairly  over,  the  Distribution  compositions 
claim  all  my  leisure,  then  preparations  for  Distri- 
bution, then  the  Distribution  itself,  then  the  vaca- 
tions, then  the  Retreat,  and  then  the  routine  com- 
mences again.  In  reading  this  you  might  suppose 
the  vacations  to  be,  as  the  name  implies,  free  time 
— but  never  were  you  more  mistaken  than  you 
would  be  in  such  a  supposition,  for  it  is  the  busiest 
time  of  all,  since  every  long  or  odd  job  is  put  off 
to  be  done  in  vacation.  These  various  duties, 
with  my  regular  classes,  my  painting,  sleep,  meals, 
and  religious  exercises — last  but  by  no  means  least 
— fill  up  my  time  so  completely,  that  it  seems 
sometimes  that  before  I  have  time  to  realize  the 
arrival  of  one  month,  the  next  has  taken  its  place. 
As  for  days  and  weeks,  they  are  nothing."  15 

TEXT-BOOKS 

From  the  time  of  the  Revolution  Catholics  in 
the  English-speaking  States  appear  to  have  made 
free  use  of  the  text-books  which  were  in  common 
circulation  in  non-Catholic  schools — a  tendency 

"Letters  of  Sister  Ignatia,  p.  26  (Georgetown  Univ.  Lib.). 


Text-books  137 

which  has  continued  down  even  to  the  present 
time.  A  desire  was  indeed  felt  all  along  for  dis- 
tinctively Catholic  text-books,  and  this  desire  gave 
rise  to  a  formal  decree  of  the  Second  Provincial 
Council  of  Baltimore.16  The  ideal,  however,  has 
never  been  fully  realized,  although,  as  time  went 
on,  the  number  and  circulation  of  Catholic  text- 
books greatly  increased. 

Father  Molyneux,  of  Philadelphia,  writing  in 
1785,  said  he  was  having  printed  a  Spelling 
Primer  for  children  with  a  Catholic  Catechism 
annexed — a  work  which  he  had  had  printed  some 
years  before,  and  which  was  an  abridgment  of 
Bell's.  About  the  time  Father  Molyneux  was  get- 
ting out  his  first  Catholic  English  school-book, 
Noah  Webster  was  preparing  his  Speller,  Gram- 
mar and  Reader.  Webster's  Speller  became  a 
standard  text-book  in  Catholic  as  well  as  non- 
Catholic  schools.  Not  long  afterward,  Pike's 
Arithmetic  and  Murray's  Grammar  made  their 
appearance.  The  latter  book,  published  first  in 
England,  came  to  be,  for  several  decades,  the 
most  popular  grammar  in  this  country,  and  was 
widely  used  in  Catholic  schools.  The  first  geog- 
raphy appeared  in  1800.  Text-books  soon  mul- 
tiplied in  these  common  branches.  Catholics  gen- 
erally made  use  of  those  that  were  regarded  as  the 
best  school-books  of  the  time.17 

Bishop  Carroll's  catechism,  adopted  from  Eng- 
land, came  to  be  generally  and  permanently 
accepted  in  Catholic  schools,  although  others  have 

10  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  250. 

17  Ib.  p.  134;  Bait.  Archives,  Case  5,  Letter  K,  Carroll  Ad- 
ministration ;  cf.  Johnson,  Old  Time  Schools  and  School- 
books ;  Reeder,  The  Hist.  Devcl.  of  School  Readers. 


138  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

been  put  forth  from  time  to  time.18  Father  Moly- 
neux  had  Bishop  Challoner's  The  Catholic  Chris- 
tian Instructed  reprinted  in  this  country,  and  this 
work  as  well  as  Reeve's  History  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  in  two  volumes,  served  as  read- 
ers in  the  post-Revolution  schools.19  The  series 
of  text-books  compiled  and  published  by  Father 
Richard  in  Detroit  had  a  considerable  circulation 
in  Catholic  schools  in  the  West.20  In  1833,  we 
find  Father  Mazzuchelli  getting  out  a  Winnebago 
version  of  the  catechism  which  Father  Baraga 
had  prepared  for  the  instruction  of  the  Ottawa 
Indians.21 

Early  Catholic  educators  in  both  East  and  West 
had  thus  labored  to  meet  the  wants  of  Catholic 
schools  in  the  matter  of  text-books.  The  Immi- 
gration movement,  with  the  multiplication  of 
Catholic  schools  and  the  coming  of  the  religious 
orders,  greatly  stimulated  the  production  of  dis- 
tinctively Catholic  text-books.  Catholic  book- 
stores and  publishing  houses,  too,  were  opened  in 
several  of  the  larger  cities.  Prominent  among 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  establishment  of 
James  Ryan,  who  kept  a  "Classical  and  Mathe- 
matical Book-store"  at  322  Broadway,  New 
York,  in  1826,  and  who  announced  at  this  time 
that  he  was  publishing  The  Mathematical  Diary, 
containing/  new  researches  and  Improvements  in 
the  Mathematics,  with  collections  of  Questions.22 

18  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  250.  A  copy  of  the  1804 
edition  of  this  catechism  exists  in  the  Congressional  Library. 

18  Records  Amer.  Cath.  Hist.  Soc..  X,  p.  225 ;    XI,  p.  69. 

20  Cf.  The  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  190;  Ann.  Prop.  Foi, 
VI,  (1833-4),  PP-  1 66,  171  :  VIII,  p.  323- 

"Wisconsin  Hist  Coll..  XIV,  p.  159. 

22  Amer.  Cath.  Hist.  Researches,  New  Series,  II,  p.  335. 


Text-books  139 

The  following  year,  he  published  An  elementary 
treatise  on  arithmetic.  He  had  previously  pub- 
lished an  elementary  treatise  on  algebra,  and 
The  new  American  grammar  of  astronomy.2* 

Another  publisher  who  contributed  to  the  grow- 
ing Catholic  school  movement  was  Eugene  Cum- 
miskey,  of  Philadelphia.  Early  in  1843,  ne 
announced  the  publication  of  the  First  and  Second 
Book  of  Reading  Lessons.  Before  the  end  of  the 
year,  the  Third  Book  was  announcced,  and  three 
years  later  The  Literary  Class  Book,  or  Fourth 
Series  of  Select  Reading  Lessons,  in  prose  and 
verse  made  its  appearance.24  These  books  were 
reprints  of  readers  prepared  by  the  Brothers  of 
the  Christian  Schools  in  Ireland.  The  publication 
of  the  entire  series  evidences  the  existing  demand 
for  Catholic  school  books,  as  well  as  the  efforts 
that  were  being  made  to  carry  out  the  decree  of 
the  Second  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore. 

A  young  man  who  was  teaching  in  a  Catholic 
school  in  Baltimore  at  this  time  saw  the  great  and 
growing  need  of  Catholic  text-books,  and  set  to 
work  courageously  to  supply  the  need  himself. 
This  was  Martin  J.  Kerney,  a  nephew  of  the  Rev. 
Nicholas  Kerney,  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church, 
in  the  same  city.  Martin  was  born  at  Lewistown, 
Md.,  in  the  year  1819,  and  went  to  Mt.  St.  Mary's 
when  only  eleven  years  old,  working  his  way 
through  the  college  by  various  employments  until 
his  graduation-year.  It  was  expected  that  he 
would  be  a  priest,  but  he  married  and  studied  law. 
Before  graduating  in  law,  his  uncle  prevailed  on 

28  Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed.,  1897-8,  p.  829. 

-4U.  S.  Cath.  Mag.,  1843,  Jan.,  Oct.;    1846,  July. 


140  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

him  to  open  a  school.  In  the  early  '5o's,  after 
graduating  in  the  law,  he  was  elected  to  the  legis- 
lature, where  he  introduced  and  championed  a 
bill  providing  for  the  distribution  to  Catholic 
schools  of  their  pro  rata  share  of  the  school  tax. 
This  action  proved  the  death  of  his  political  pros- 
pects. He  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  literary 
work  from  this  time  until  his  death  in  1861.  He 
was  editor  of  the  Metropolitan  magazine,  and 
also  of  the  Catholic  Almanac,  and  he  edited  and 
published  the  Child's  Youth's  Magazine.  His 
most  lasting  and  influential  work  was,  however, 
the  writing  and  editing  of  text-books  for  Catholic 
schools.  His  interest  in  the  Catholic  school  move- 
ment of  the  time  was  intense — an  interest  which 
was  doubtless  due  in  part  to  his  admiration  for 
Bishop  Brute,  a  close  friend  of  the  family.23 
Many  of  his  text-books  became  standard  works  in 
Catholic  schools  and  academies,  and  several  of 
them,  with  repeated  revisions,  have  continued  to 
be  used  down  to  the  present  day. 

In  the  year  1845  ne  brought  out  his  Compen- 
dium of  Ancient  and  Modern  History,  which  ran 
through  thirty  editions  in  twenty-two  years.26  His 
Abridgment  of  Murray's  English  Grammar, 
which  was  announced  in  1846,  was  long  a  stand- 
ard text  in  Catholic  schools.  The  same  was  true 
of  the  Columbian  Arithmetic,  which  appeared  two 

25  These  details  were  communicated  to  the  author  by  the  Rev. 
John  Barry,  Catonsville,  Baltimore  Co.,  who  is  related  to  the 
Kerney  family.  For  an  account  of  the  educational  work  of 
Bishop  Brute,  cf.  Cath.  Sch.  System  in  U.  S. 

2*  This  work,  of  431  pages,  in  1867,  was  revised  and  enlarged 
by  John  O'Kane  Murray,  in  1880  (599  pages).  Its  latest 
revision  and  enlargement  was  by  Prof.  Charles  H.  McCarthy, 
in  1909  (737  pages). 


Text-books  141 

years  later.  In  1850,  he  published  the  First  Class 
Book  of  History,  designed  for  beginners,  and  the 
Catechism  of  the  History  of  the  United  States. 
The  former  of  these  two  works  reached  its 
twenty-second  edition  in  1868,  and,  like  the  Com- 
pendium, is  still  widely  used.27  The  Catechism 
was  designed  to  accompany  Irving's  Series  of 
Catechisms,  and  was  also  very  popular.  The  suc- 
cess of  this  work  induced  Kerney  to  bring  out  new 
and  revised  editions,  for  Catholic  jchools  and  col- 
leges, of  the  other  texts  in  Irving's  Series.  This 
task  occupied  him  during  the  four  following  years. 
The  series  included  a  text-book  in  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing subjects:  astronomy,  botany,  Grecian 
antiquities,  Jewish  antiquities,  Roman  antiquities, 
practical  chemistry,  and  the  history  of  England. 
He  also  edited  Burke's  text  of  Lingard's  History 
of  England.28  Subsequently,  he  was  engaged  in 
editing  the  Metropolitan  magazine  (1853-1858).' 
Many  of  Kerney's  texts  were  brought  out  by 
John  Murphy  &  Co.  of  Baltimore,  publishers  of 
the  Catholic  Almanac  and  The  United  States 
Catholic  Magazine,  the  leading  Catholic  period- 
ical of  the  time.  This  firm  rendered  a  great 
service  to  the  cause  of  Catholic  education  by  the 
publication  of  Catholic  text-books.  In  addition 
to  the  works  already  mentioned,  the  following 
list  of  Catholic  school  books,  advertised  by 
Murphy  &  Co.,  in  1846,  will  show  the  rapid 
progress  that  had  been  made  in  this  direction 

"  A  book  of  175  pages  in  the  original  edition,  it  has  now, 
after  a  number  of  revisions  and  enlargements,  437  pages 
(edition  of  1900). 

28  Cf.  Bibliography,  in  Cong.  Library,  Wash. 


142  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

within  a  few  years.     The  subjoined  prices  of  the 
books  will  not  be  without  interest : 29 

Manual    of    Catholic    Melodies,    Hymns, 

Psalms,  etc $1.00 

Short  Introduction  to  the  Art  of  Singing.  .  .12 
Compendium  of  Ancient  and  Modern  His- 
tory, by  J.  M.  Kerney i.oo 

Butler's  Larger  Catechism .04 

Butler's  Smaller  Catechism .02 

Catholic  School  Book,  containing  easy  and 

familiar  lessons .15 

English  Reading  Lesson .31 

Modern  History,  by  P.  Fredet,  D.  D 87 

Models  of  English  Literature .75 

Reading  Lessons,  by  the  Christian  Bros., 

ist  book,  paper .06 

Reading  Lessons,  by  the  Christian  Bros., 

2d  book,  one-half  bound .12 

Reading  Lessons,  by  the  Christian  Bros., 

3d  book,  bound .50 

Universal  Reading  Book,  muslin .31 

Father  Peter  Fredet  (1801-1856),  was  pro- 
fessor of  history  at  St.  Mary's  College,  Baltimore. 
His  histories,  Ancient  and  Modern,  became  very 
popular  in  Catholic  colleges  and  academies,  and 
ran  through  many  editions.  The  Modern  His- 
tory appeared  in  1842,  and  the  other  volume 
some  years  later.30 

Singing-books  were  in  demand,  and  much  at- 
tention was  paid  in  many  of  the  schools  to  instruc- 

28  U.  S.  Cath.  Mag.,  V,  no.  u. 

30  From  a  volume  of  353  pages  as  first  published,  the  Modern 
History  has  been  expanded  until,  in  its  latest  revision  by  Prof. 
McCarthy  (1910),  it  was  enlarged  to  783  pages. 


Text-books 


143 


tion  in  singing.  The  above  list  was  not,  it  need 
scarcely  be  said,  exhaustive.  Text-books  had  been 
published  by  other  Catholic  firms,  and  some  had 
been  brought  out  by  Murphy  &  Co.  that  do  not 
appear  in  this  list.  Moreover,  besides  distinc- 
tively Catholic  works,  the  firm  handled  the  lead- 
ing non-Catholic  text-books,  and  the  long  list  of 
these  appearing  in  the  advertising  columns  of  the 
United  States  Catholic  Magazine  shows  the 
extent  to  which  non-Catholic  works  continued  to 
be  used  in  Catholic  schools,  notwithstanding  the 
comparative  activity  of  Catholic  authors  and  pub- 
lishers of  school  books.31 

Another  Catholic  publishing  house  of  the  time 
was  that  of  D.  &  J.  Sadlier  &  Co.,  of  New  York. 
In  the  early  '40*3  this  firm  began  to  bring  out  new 
Catholic  text-books,  as  well  as  revised  editions  of 
standard  non-Catholic  works.  Many  of  the 
Catholic  books  were  prepared  by  the  Christian 
Brothers.  The  Sadliers'  publications  covered 
almost  every  subject  in  the  grades  of  both  the 
elementary  schools  and  the  academies.  One  of 
their  most  notable  works  was  the  Metropolitan 
Readers,  compiled  by  Mother  Angela,  of  the  Sis- 
ters of  the  Holy  Cross.  The  series  consisted  of 
six  readers,  the  last  of  which  appeared  only  after 
the  Civil  War.  Although  rather  gloomy-looking, 
with  few  and  but  poorly  executed  illustrations,  and 
with  lessons  that  perhaps  dealt  too  often  with 
the  more  serious  subjects,  the  Metropolitan 
Readers,  for  all  this,  did  very  excellent  service. 

Bishop  Gilmour's  series  of  readers,  which  were 
brought  out  by  Benziger  Brothers  during  the 
31 U.  S.  Cath.  Mag.,  VI,  no.  5. 


144  School  Life  and  Work  During  the  Immigration  Period 

'70'$,  represented  a  real  advance."  There  was  an 
abundance  of  illustrations,  and  these  were  not 
simply  incidental,  but  were  made  use  of  in  order 
to  convey  the  ideas  of  the  text  to  the  mind  of 
the  child.  Bishop  Gilmour's  Readers  formed  a 
transition  from  the  dry  and  formal  text-books  of 
earlier  times  to  the  bright  and  attractive  school 
books  of  to-day.  The  bishop  had  a  clear  percep- 
tion of  certain  psychological  principles  whose 
adoption  by  the  teachers  of  our  time  has  brought 
about  a  far  greater  change  in  the  methods  and 
spirit  of  teaching  than  even  the  change  that  has 
taken  place  In  the  form  of  the  text-books. 

In  the  matter  of  improvement  in  text-books 
in  more  recent  times,  Catholics  may  be  said  to 
have  kept  fairly  abreast  of  the  general  educational 
movement.  In  the  '8o's,  the  Catholic  Publication 
Society  brought  out  a  new  series  of  readers,  under 
the  editorship  of  the  Rev.  John  Lancaster  Spald- 
ing,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Peoria.  Benziger 
Brothers,  who  have,  during  recent  decades, 
assumed  the  lead  in  the  publication  of  Catholic 
school  books,  deserve  credit  for  the  continual 
efforts  made  to  produce  Catholic  text-books 
embodying  the  results  of  the  best  educational 
thought  and  practice.  Distinctively  Catholic  text- 
books are,  however,  still  confined  mostly  to  the 
classes  in  English  and  Christian  doctrine.  In 


82  Bishop  Gilmour  was  a  sturdy  champion  of  Catholic  schools. 
He  spoke  and  lectured  often  in  their  behalf.  His  deep  per- 
sonal interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  schools  and  his  keen 
insight  into  their  vital  needs  were  evidenced  again,  later  on,  by 
the  educational  organization  he  established  in  the  Diocese  of 
Cleveland,  after  the  Third  Plenary  Council.  See  chapter  on 
Organization  and  Administration. 


Text-books  145 

other  subjects,  with  perhaps  the  exception  of  sing- 
ing, Catholic  educators  employ  freely  to-day,  as 
they  have  done  from  the  beginning,  the  works  of 
non-Catholic  authors. 


CHAPTER  VI 

IN  THE  FAR  WESTERN  STATES 

PLAN     AND     SCOPE 

IN  KEEPING  with  the  general  plan  of  this  work, 
as  a  study  of  the  origin  and  development  of  the 
Catholic  school  system,  it  is  the  intention  to  deal 
with  only  the  earlier  period  of  Catholic  school 
growth  throughout  the  Far  Western  States  in 
the  present  chapter.  In  a  previous  volume,  the 
foundation  of  the  school  system  in  the  States  lying 
east  of  the  Mississippi  and  immediately  to  the 
west  of  it,  was  described,  and  also  the  early 
Spanish  missionary  schools  in  California  and  the 
Southwest.1  It  remains  to  describe  the  Catholic 
school  movement  in  the  Far  West.  The  plan  of 
the  work  forbids  the  attempt  to  enter  into  the 
history  of  the  schools  in  each  diocese  fully  or  in 
detail;  and  the  general  educational  influences  and 
conditions  that  were  felt  in  each  diccese,  in  the 
Far  Western  States  as  elsewhere,  will  be  con- 
sidered in  the  chapters  that  follow.  These  general 
influences  took  the  form  of  school  legislation  and 
organization,  school  economics,  discussions  re- 
specting the  character  and  rights  of  the  Catho- 
lic school  and  its  relations  to  the  state,  the  prac- 

1  The   Cath.   School   System  in  the   U.   S. :    Its   Principles, 
Origin,  and  Establishment. 

146 


Plan  and  Scope  147 

tical  efforts  made  to  adjust  those  relations  more 
satisfactorily,  and  other  educational  movements. 
The  study  of  these  general  features  involves  the 
history  of  Catholic  school  development  through- 
out all  the  States  and  dioceses.  The  movement 
was  everywhere  one,  not  only  in  spirit  and  pur- 
pose, but  also  in  its  external  trend  and  phenomena. 
At  the  period  we  have  now  reached,  therefore, 
it  is  only  these  larger  and  more  universally  felt 
influences  with  which,  in  view  of  our  purpose,  we 
have  mainly  to  deal. 

Something  has  already  been  said  of  the  first 
Catholic  schools  in  the  States  lying  immediately 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  In  Missouri,  the 
early  schools  have  been  dealt  with  at  considerable 
length,  not  only  because  Catholic  educational  his- 
tory began  very  early  in  Missouri,  but  also  be- 
cause the  State  became  the  cradle  of  Catholic 
educational  activity  throughout  the  Far  West.2  In 
the  other  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
the  development  of  the  school  system  was  mainly 
due  to  the  immigration  movement,  whose  general 
educational  characteristics  and  influence  have  just 
been  studied;  in  this  group  of  States,  therefore, 
we  shall  content  ourselves  with  noting  the  circum- 
stances relating  to  the  founding  of  the  earliest 
schools.  In  the  States  lying  farther  west,  where 
special  influences  were  at  work,  attention  will  be 
directed  to  the  character  of  these  special  influ- 
ences, so  far  as  the  general  scope  of  the  work  may 
permit,  as  well  as  to  the  circumstances  surround- 
ing the  earliest  Catholic  schools. 

2  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S. :    Its  Principles,  Ori- 
gin, and  Establishment,  ch.  VIII,  p.  297  seq. 


148  In  the  Far  Western  States 


Although  public  schools  probably  antedated 
Catholic  schools  in  IOWA,  Catholic  schools  were, 
nevertheless,  established  there  at  a  very  early 
period.  The  first  public  school  was  founded  in 
1830,  and  when  Iowa  was  admitted  to  the  Union 
as  a  State,  in  1846,  there  were  but  one  hundred 
public  schools,  all  built  of  logs.3  Several  Catholic 
schools  appear  to  have  been  established  in  the 
Territory  previous  to  1840  by  Father  Maz- 
zuchelli,  the  pioneer  Dominican  missionary.  In 
that  year,  he  built  the  new  St.  Paul's  Church,  in 
Burlington,  with  a  basement  to  be  used  as  a 
school.4  Davenport  had  also  a  church,  with  a 
schoolroom  attached.  About  the  same  date, 
Bishop  Loras,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  See 
of  Dubuque  three  years  before,  opened  a  boys' 
school  in  a  room  in  his  own  house.5  Priests  taught 
school  quite  commonly  in  Iowa  in  the  pioneer 
days,  but  with  the  arrival  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  Dubuque,  in  1843,  tne 
history  of  organized  educational  work  in  the 
diocese  really  begins.6  Efforts  were  made  to  estab- 
lish teaching  brotherhoods  for  boys  in  the  diocese, 
the  Brothers  of  St.  Joseph  being  brought  from 
Notre  Dame,  Ind.,  in  1844,  and  Brothers  of  the 
Christian  Doctrine  from  Europe,  in  1851 ;  but  in 
neither  case  were  the  establishments  permanent.7 

*  Dexter,  Hist,  of  Ed.  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  116. 

4  Laurent,  in  Iowa  Cath.  Messenger,  Jan.  27,  1894. 
Mb.;    cf.  also  Cath.  Almanac,  1840. 

*  See  Ch.  II,  Srs.  of  Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
'Shea,  Hist.  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.,  IV,  pp.  244,  247. 


Iowa,  Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska,  Kansas   149 

The  first  Catholic  school  within  the  State  of 
MINNESOTA  appears  to  have  been  the  Indian 
school  which  was  taught  by  Father  Francis  Pierz, 
at  Grand  Portage,  in  i838.8  Father  Pierz  and 
Bishop  Baraga  established  several  Indian  missions 
in  northeastern  Minnesota.  It  was  the  custom  of 
these  two  scholarly  missionaries  to  teach  the  In- 
dians, especially  the  young,  not  only  Christian 
doctrine,  but  also  to  read  and  write  their  own  lan- 
guage, and  it  is  probable  that  there  were  other 
Indian  schools  in  the  State,  in  addition  to  the  one 
at  Grand  Portage.  These  schools,  however,  were 
not  of  a  permanent  character.  The  history  of 
organized  Catholic  education  in  Minnesota  begins 
with  the  arrival  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Cretin  at 
St.  Paul,  in  July,  1851,  as  the  first  bishop  of  the 
diocese.  Bishop  Cretin,  as  vicar-general  at 
Dubuque,  had  been  associated  with  Bishop  Loras 
in  the  educational  activity  that  marked  his  admin- 
istration of  the  diocese.  Bishop  Cretin  set  to 
work  immediately,  in  his  new  field,  to  lay  the 
ground-work  of  a  system  of  Catholic  schools. 
Minnesota  (including  the  present  States  of  North 
and  South  Dakota)  had  been  made  a  Territory 
only  two  years  before.  At  the  time  of  Bishop 
Cretin's  arrival,  the  population  of  the  Territory 
was  but  5000,  and  that  of  the  village  of  St.  Paul, 
1200;  but  immigration  was  beginning  to  swell 
these  numbers.  The  bishop  could  count  but  7 
priests  in  all  his  vast  diocese.9  The  first  non- 
Catholic  school  was  only  four  years  old.  Soon 

"Verwyst,  Life  of  Bishop  Baraga,  p.  384. 
*The  Diocese  of  St.  Paul:  The  Golden  Jubilee,  p.  59;    Shea, 
op.  cit,  IV,  p.  260. 


i  $o  In  the  Far  Western  States 

after  his  arrival,  Bishop  Cretin  brought  four  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph,  from  Carondelet,  Missouri, 
with  Sister  St.  John  Fournier  as  superioress,  and 
on  Nov.  10,  1851,  the  Sisters  opened  their  first 
school  in  the  log-building  erected  a  few  years  be- 
fore as  St.  Paul's  first  church.  A  special  school 
building  was  begun  the  following  spring.  Other 
Sisters  came  from  Carondelet.  A  strong  central 
establishment,  including  an  academy,  was  built  up, 
and  parish  schools  were  taken  in  charge  by  the 
Sisters  in  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  and  other 
places  throughout  the  diocese.10  Bishop  Cretin 
also  brought  a  colony  of  Benedictine  Sisters,  under 
Mother  Benedicta  Riepp,  from  the  parent  estab- 
lishment of  St.  Mary's,  Pa.,  and  established  them 
at  St.  Cloud,  Minn.,  in  1857.  Several  years  later, 
they  transferred  the  mother-house  to  St.  Joseph's, 
in  Stearns  County,  and  from  here  as  a  center  the 
Sisters  opened  parish  schools  in  many  places 
throughout  the  State.  Both  of  these  communities 
have  contributed  greatly  to  the  development  of 
education  throughout  Minnesota  and  the  North- 
west.11 

The  first  school  in  NORTH  DAKOTA  was  a 
Catholic  school  established  at  Pembina,  in  the 
year  i8i8.12  The  beginning  of  systematic  Catho- 
lic school  organization  in  North  Dakota  dates 
from  the  year  1880,  when  a  colony  of  Presenta- 
tion Nuns  from  Dublin,  Ireland,  arrived  at  Fargo, 

10  Records  of  the  mother-house,  St.  Louis;    Most  Rev.  John 
Ireland:     Sermon    on    Occasion    of    Fiftieth    Anniversary    of 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  p.  2\   Ravoux.  Memoires,  Reminiscences, 
etc.,  p.  80;    Shea,  on.  cit.,  TV.  p.  2"8  seq. 

11  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.  of  A.,  I,  p.  296;   cf.  also  Chap- 
ter III  supra.  The  Benedictine  Sisters. 

12  Cf.  The  Cath.  Sch.  System  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  319. 


Iowa,  Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska,  Kansas   151 

and  opened  a  school  and  academy.  This  was  six 
years  before  the  admission  of  the  Territory  into 
the  Union  as  two  States.13  A  branch  establish- 
ment was  founded  at  Aberdeen,  in  SOUTH 
DAKOTA,  in  1886,  and  a  number  of  other  schools 
were  opened  later  on  by  the  Sisters  from  here. 
The  Benedictine  Sisters  from  St.  Joseph's,  Minn., 
opened  schools  in  several  places  in  North  Dakota. 
A  convent  of  Benedictine  Sisters  from  Missouri 
was  also  established  at  Yankton,  S.  Dak.,  in  1888, 
and  this  community  has  opened  numerous  schools 
in  both  of  these  States.  Another  community  known 
as  the  Sisters  of  Mary  of  the  Presentation,  which 
was  exiled  from  France  during  the  recent  persecu- 
tion of  the  religious  orders  there,  has  taken  charge 
of  a  number  of  schools  in  North  Dakota.  In 
many  of  the  country  districts  in  the  Dakotas,  as 
also  in  other  western  States,  the  district  schools 
are  practically  Catholic,  the  settlers  being  mostly 
Catholics,  and  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
children  being  cared  for  by  the  Catholic  lay  teach- 
ers, under  the  supervision  of  the  pastors.14 

Catholics  were  among  the  pioneers  in  educa- 
tional work  in  KANSAS,  although  they  may  not  be 
able  to  claim  the  credit  of  having  founded  the  first 
school.  Father  De  Smet,  the  celebrated  Jesuit 
missionary,  in  1838,  established  a  mission  among 
the  Potawatomi  Indians,  who  had  been  shortly 
before  transferred  from  Northern  Indiana  and 
Southern  Michigan  to  Kansas.15  A  school  was 
probably  opened  at  the  same  time.  Three  years 

13  Cath.  Directory,  1910,  p.  789. 

14  Ib.,  P.  359- 

15  De  Smet,  Western  Missions,  p.  343. 


152  In  the  Far  Western  States 

later,  there  were  two  schools  connected  with  the 
mission  center  of  St.  Mary's,  on  the  Kansas  River, 
one  school  being  for  boys  and  the  other  for  girls. 
The  girls'  school  at  this  time  was  taken  in  charge 
by  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  Both  were 
boarding  schools  of  an  industrial  character,  as  was 
generally  the  case  with  Catholic  schools  for  the 
Indians,  and  both  were  highly  successful.16  Schools 
were  also  opened  among  the  Osage  Indians,  on 
the  Neosho  River,  in  1847,  and  were  attended 
with  like  success.  Here  also  there  were  separate 
schools  for  boys  and  girls,  and  special  attention 
was  given  to  the  industrial  arts.  The  girls'  school 
was  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Loretto,  from 
Kentucky.17  With  the  opening  of  Kansas  to  white 
settlers  in  1854,  the  history  of  Catholic  education 
in  the  State,  on  a  permanent  organized  basis,  be- 
gins. Benedictines  from  St.  Vincent's,  Pa.,  arrived 
the  following  year,  and  in  1860,  the  energetic 
Father  Wirth  founded  St.  Benedict's  Abbey  at 
Atchison,  where  a  college  was  also  begun.  Three 
years  later,  Bishop  Miege  brought  Benedictine 
Sisters  from  St.  Joseph's,  Minn.,  who  founded  a 
new  mother-house  at  Atchison,  and  from  here 
the  Sisters  were  sent  to  take  charge  of  schools 
in  various  parishes  of  Kansas  and  the  neighboring 
States.18  A  colony  of  the  Kentucky  Sisters  of 
Charity,  from  Nashville,  Tenn.,  was  established 
at  Lawrence,  in  1859,  where  the  Sisters  opened  an 

18  De  Smet,  Western  Missions,  pp.  348,  527 ;  Chittenden  and 
Richardson,  Life,  Letters  and  Travels  of  Father  Pierre  Jean 
De  Smet,  S.J.,  Vol.  II,  p.  720;  and  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1199. 

17  Records  of  Sisters  of  Loretto :  cf .  Cath.  Sch.  System  in 
U.  S.,  p.  235;  De  Smet,  op.  cit.,  pp.  355,  358,  361,  387;  Shea, 
loc.  cit.;  Hodge,  Handbook  of  Amer.  Indians,  p.  885. 

11  Cath.  Directory  ;    Shea,  p.  658. 


Iowa,  Minnesota,  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska,  Kansas   153 

academy.  Soon  afterward,  they  founded  another 
academy  at  Leavenworth,  which  became  the 
mother-house  of  this  independent  branch  of  the 
Order.  A  number  of  schools  were  opened  by  the 
Sisters  in  Kansas,  and  the  community  became  in 
time  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  teach- 
ing bodies  in  the  West.19 

It  is  probable  that  a  school  was  opened  by  Fath- 
ers Verreydt  and  De  Smet,  the  Jesuit  missionaries, 
when  they  established  a  mission  among  a  tribe  of 
the  Potawatomi  Indians  at  Council  Bluffs,  near 
Omaha,  in  1838.  The  Indians  were,  however, 
some  years  later  removed  to  Kansas.20  In  1859, 
there  were  but  two  priests  in  NEBRASKA,  with  a 
Catholic  population  of  about  300  families,  scat- 
tered along  the  River  Counties.21  Omaha  at  this 
time  was  a  mere  village.  Immigrants,  however, 
were  pouring  into  the  Territory,  and  among  them 
were  many  Catholics.  The  first  Catholic  church 
in  Omaha  was  built  in  1856,  and  about  two  years 
later  a  large  frame  schoolhouse  was  erected  for  a 
boys'  school.  This  was  the  first  Catholic  school 
for  white  children  in  Nebraska  of  which  we  have 
historic  record.  Lay  teachers  were  employed.  A 
vicar-apostolic,  in  the  person  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
James  M.  O'Gorman,  was  appointed  in  1859,  and 
in  1863  this  prelate  erected  a  convent  in  Omaha 
which  was  occupied  the  same  year  by  seven  Sisters 
of  Mercy,  from  Manchester,  N.  H.22  The  Sisters 
opened  an  academy  and  schools.  A  school  was 

18  Cath.  Dir. ;    Shea,  p.  659;    Palladino,  Indian  and  White  in 
the  Northwest,  p.  293,  seq. 

20  Creighton  University  :    Reminiscences,  p.  25. 

21  Records  Amer.  Cath.  Hist.  Soc.,  Ill,  p.  in. 

22  Ib. ;    Shea,  IV,  p.  655  ;    Creighton  Univ.,  p.  35. 


154  In  the  Far  Western  States 

also  established  at  Nebraska  City.  Bishop  James 
O'Connor  took  charge  of  the  diocese  in  1876, 
and  under  his  administration  there  was  constant 
and  rapid  educational  progress,  a  number  of 
teaching  orders  being  brought  to  the  State,  among 
which  were  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis  from  Lafay- 
ette, Ind.23 

MONTANA,  COLORADO,  UTAH,  WYOMING 

The  history  of  the  Jesuit  missions  in  MONTANA 
begins  with  the  founding  of  St.  Mary's  Mission, 
not  far  from  the  present  city  of  Missoula,  by 
Father  De  Smet,  in  1841.  Other  missions  were 
founded  by  the  Jesuits  among  various  Indian 
tribes  in  Montana  in  succeeding  years,  and  it  is 
probable  that  there  was  some  formal  teaching  of 
the  Indian  youth  at  all  these  stations.  This  was 
certainly  the  case  in  respect  to  agriculture  and 
other  industrial  arts.  Catholics  were,  in  this  sense 
and  to  this  extent  at  least,  the  pioneers  in  educa- 
tional work  in  Montana.  About  1855,  a  school 
which  was  to  be  supported  by  government  funds 
was  opened  at  the  second  of  the  missions,  known 
as  St.  Ignatius,  but  it  had  soon  to  be  closed  for  lack 
of  means.24  In  1863,  however,  school  buildings 
were  begun,  and  in  the  Fall  of  the  following  year 
four  Sisters  of  Providence,  from  Montreal,  with 
Sister  Mary  of  the  Infant  Jesus  at  their  head, 
arrived  to  take  charge  of  the  work.  This  was  the 
first  boarding  school  for  Indians  in  the  Far  North- 
west.25 As  usual  in  Catholic  Indian  schools,  the 

28Creighton  Univ.,  p.  40;    Hist,  of  the  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.  of 
A.,  p.  345- 

28  Palladino,  Indian  and  White  in  the  Northwest,  p.  74. 
"Ib.,  pp.  80,  122. 


Montana,  Colorado,  Utah,  Wyoming  155 

teaching  of  the  elementary  academic  branches  was 
accompanied  by  training  in  the  commcn  industrial 
arts.  The  Sisters  conducted  a  separate  school 
for  boys.  Several  other  schools  were  opened  later 
on  by  the  same  community.  When  the  Rt.  Rev. 
J.  B.  Brondel  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the 
Church  in  Montana,  in  1883,  one  of  his  first  acts 
was  to  secure  a  colony  of  Ursuline  Sisters  from 
the  Diocese  of  Cleveland.  Six  members  of  the 
Order,  with  Mother  Amadeus  as  superior,  arrived 
at  Miles  City,  in  1884,  and  immediately  opened  a 
school  among  the  Cheyenne  Indians.20  The 
mother-house  of  the  order  was  subsequently 
established  at  St.  Peter's  Mission,  among  the 
Blackfeet  Indians.  From  this  place  as  a  center, 
the  Sisters  went  forth  to  take  charge  of  most  of 
the  schools  which  were  established  at  the  mis- 
sions.27 The  educational  work  of  the  Sisters  in 
Montana  has  continually  called  for  a  high  de- 
gree of  self-sacrifice — often  indeed  of  real  hero- 
ism, while  their  influence  for  the  uplift  of  the 
Indian  tribes  has  been  second  only  to  that  of  the 
devoted  missionary  priests.  Montana  was  made 
a  Territory  in  1864,  shortly  after  the  opening  of 
its  gold  mines,  and  settlements  of  whites  were 
rapidly  formed.  Five  Sisters  of  Charity  from 
Leavenworth,  under  Sister  Julia,  reached  Helena 
in  1869,  and  established  St.  Vincent's  Academy. 
They  also  conducted  day  schools  for  both  boys 
and  girls,  and  founded  secondary  as  well  as  pri- 
mary schools  in  other  important  settlements.28 

*'  Palladino,   Indian  and  White  in   the   Northwest,  p.  208. 
27  lb.,  passim. 

28 1 b.,  p.  289;    The  Cath.  Ch.  in  Montana,  in  Amer.  Cath.  Q. 
Rev.,  XII,  p.  504. 


156  In  the  Far  Western  States 

The  building  of  schools  and  the  Catholic  educa- 
tional development  in  Montana,  from  this  time 
forward,  followed  the  influx  of  settlers,  and  kept 
pace  with  the  growth  of  the  Catholic  population. 
The  Rt.  Rev.  John  P.  Carroll,  who  became  Bishop 
of  Helena  in  1904,  has  labored  to  perfect  the 
diocesan  system  by  the  establishment  of  a  college 
and  a  series  of  strong  secondary  schools. 

When  COLORADO  was  organized  as  a  Territory 
by  Congress,  in  1861,  it  contained  25,329  inhabi- 
tants. It  had  previously  been  part  of  Kansas,  and 
only  three  years  before  the  above  date  white  set- 
tlers from  the  east  had  begun  to  stream  into  it, 
attracted  by  the  reported  discoveries  of  gold.  The 
first  school  was  opened  at  Denver,  in  i859-29 
Catholics  were  among  the  first  to  be  on  the 
ground.  Father  Joseph  P.  Machebeuf,  who  sub- 
sequently became  Bishop  of  Denver,  was  sent 
from  Santa  Fe  the  following  year  to  assume 
spiritual  charge  of  Colorado;  and  this  apostolic 
man,  whose  enlightened  zeal  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation recalls  that  of  the  great  priests  who  wrere 
exiled  to  this  country  by  the  French  Revolution, 
directed  his  attention  at  once  to  the  problem  of 
providing  schools  for  the  little  ones  among  his 
widely  scattered  flock.  In  1863,  he  was  able  to 
open  a  Catholic  school,  in  charge  of  a  lay  teacher, 
beside  the  newly  finished  church  in  Denver.3" 
The  following  year,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  four 
Sisters  of  Loretto,  from  Kentucky,  to  Denver, 
to  open  an  academy  and  schools.31  This  was  the 

"Hall,  Hist,  of  Colo.,  p.  219. 

30  Hewlett,  Life  of  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  P.  Machebeuf,  p.  311. 

81  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  System  in  U.  S.,  Sisters  of  Loretto,  p.  224. 


Montana,  Colorado,  Utah,  Wyoming  157 

beginning  of  St.  Mary's  Academy,  which  has  de- 
veloped into  one  of  the  most  important  institu- 
tions of  the  kind  in  the  West.  His  efforts  to 
secure  teaching  orders  of  men  were  not  so  suc- 
cessful, and  it  was  only  in  1884  that  he  was  able 
to  establish  a  college  for  boys,  by  inducing  the 
Jesuits  to  transfer  their  college  at  Las  Vegas, 
New  Mexico,  to  Colorado.32  At  the  time  he  was 
raised  to  the  episcopal  dignity,  in  1868,  there 
were,  outside  of  Denver,  but  three  priests  in  his 
immense  diocese,  including  both  Colorado  and 
Utah;  yet,  with  a  sublime  faith  in  the  future,  he 
endeavored  to  plant  schools  alongside  the 
churches  in  the  growing  towns.  More  Sisters  of 
Loretto  arrived;  an  academy  and  school  were 
opened  at  Pueblo  in  1875;  and  schools  in  other 
places  in  subsequent  years.33  Additional  teaching 
communities  were  brought  into  the  diocese :  the 
Sisters  of  Charity,  from  Mt.  St.  Joseph,  Ohio,  in 
1869;  the  Leavenworth  Sisters  of  Charity,  In 
1874;  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  from  St.  Louis,  in 
1877;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  in  1882;  besides 
others  in  later  years.  The  Benedictine  Fathers, 
who  came  to  the  diocese  from  St.  Vincent's,  Pa., 
in  1887,  established  a  boarding  school  for  boys  at 
Pueblo.34 

Although  the  Mormons  settled  in  UTAH  as 
early  as  1847,  ^  was  l°ng  before  Catholics  were 
there  in  number  sufficient  for  the  establishment 
of  their  own  schools.  Notwithstanding  the 
sparseness  of  the  Catholic  population,  the  Sisters 

"  Hewlett,  op.  cit,  p.  396. 

"  Ib.,  p.  384  seq. 

"  Ib.,  pp.  368,  382,  392 ;   Cath.  Dir.,  1910,  p.  329. 


158  In  the  Far  Western  States 

of  the  Holy  Cross  sent  thirteen  Sisters,  in  1875, 
to  establish  St.  Mary's  Academy  at  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  to  open  a  school.  This  academy  took 
rank  as  one  of  the  leading  institutions  for  the 
education  of  girls  in  the  West.  Three  years 
later,  the  Sisters  founded  an  academy  and  school 
at  Ogden,  and  in  subsequent  years  schools  were 
also  opened  at  Park  City  and  Eureka.35  The 
Catholic  population  of  the  Diocese  of  Salt  Lake, 
which  includes  the  larger  part  of  Nevada,  is  at 
present  about  n,ooo.36 

In  WYOMING,  as  in  Utah,  Catholic  education 
has  been  very  slow  of  development,  because  the 
total  population  has  continued  small,  and  Catho- 
lics have  been  scattered.  The  pioneer  teaching 
order  of  women  in  the  State  is  that  of  the  Sisters 
of  Charity,  of  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  which 
opened  a  parish  school  in  Laramie,  in  1878,  the 
school  being  continued  until  about  igoi.37  The 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Child  Jesus,  from  Sharon 
Hill,  Pa.,  established  an  academy  and  school  in 
Cheyenne  in  i884.38  The  Sisters  of  St.  Francis, 
from  Glen  Riddle,  Pa.,  have  charge  of  St.  Ste- 
phen's Indian  Boarding  School,  in  Fremont 
County.  The  Catholic  population  of  Wyoming  at 
present  is  about  io,ooo.39 

85  Records  of  the  mother-house,  at  St.  Mary's,  Notre  Dame, 
Indiana. 

36  Cath.  Dir.,  IQIO,  p.  602. 

37  Records  of  the  mother-house,  Leavenworth. 

38  Records  of  the  mother-house,  Sharon  Hill. 

39  Cath.  Dir.,  1910,  p.  281. 


Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho  159 


OREGON,     WASHINGTON,     IDAHO 

Catholic  education  in  OREGON  was  Canadian 
in  origin,  as  well  as  in  the  influences  that  presided 
over  its  earlier  development.  Father  Francis 
Norbert  Blanchet,  the  future  Archbishop  of 
Oregon,  arrived  there  from  Montreal,  in  1838, 
having  come  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  minister- 
ing to  the  Canadians  in  the  Willamette  Valley 
and  at  Fort  Vancouver,  on  the  Columbia,  who 
were  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany. Oregon,  or  the  "Oregon  Country,"  com- 
prised at  the  time,  not  only  the  present  State  of 
that  name,  but  also  Washington,  Idaho,  and  part 
of  Montana.  Father  Blanchet  showed  the  im- 
portance he  attached  to  Christian  education  and 
outlined,  as  it  were,  his  future  policy,  when,  on 
Oct.  17,  1843,  with  only  about  a  thousand  Catho- 
lic whites  in  Oregon,  he  founded  St.  Joseph's 
College  at  St.  Paul,  in  the  Willamette  Valley, 
placing  Father  Langlois  in  charge,  assisted  by 
two  laymen.  The  school  opened  with  an  attend- 
ance of  thirty  boarders.  At  the  same  place,  and 
at  some  distance  west  of  the  college,  a  frame 
structure,  30x60  feet,  was  erected  for  a  girls' 
academy,  to  be  conducted  by  Sisters.40  In  1842, 
Father  De  Smet  journeyed  from  Montana  to 
visit  Father  Blanchet,  and,  two  years  later,  re- 
turning from  Europe,  after  a  long  and  dangerous 

40  Blanchet,  Historical  Sketches  of  the  Cath.  Ch.  in  Oregon, 
pp.  30,  83  ;  O'Hara,  Francis  Xorbert  Blanchet,  in  Cath.  Univ. 
Bull.,  XVI,  p.  754;  Shea,  op.  cit.,  IV,  p.  316;  Gleanings  of 
Fifty  Years — The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  in  the  North- 
west, p.  47. 


160  In  the  Far  Western  States 

voyage  around  Cape  Horn,  the  famous  Jesuit 
missionary  arrived  at  Fort  Vancouver,  bringing 
with  him  six  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  from 
Namur.  The  academy  was  opened  without 
delay,  and  there  was  a  good  attendance.  The 
building,  however,  had  been  left  in  a  partly 
unfinished  condition,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of 
mechanics,  and  the  Sisters,  it  is  related,  "were 
soon  initiated  into  the  requirements  of  pioneer 
life:  one  might  be  seen  handling  the  plane, 
another  glazing,  and  still  others  painting  the 
windows  and  doors."41  In  1844,  Father 
Blanchet  was  appointed  bishop  and  vicar-apos- 
tolic, and  two  years  later  the  country  of  Oregon 
was  divided  into  several  bishoprics,  and  he  was 
named  archbishop.  Returning  from  Europe  in 
1847,  h£  brought  with  him,  besides  a  number  of 
priests,  seven  additional  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame.42  Archbishop  Blanchet  was  the  apostle 
of  Catholic  education,  as  he  was  also  of  Catho- 
licity, in  the  Far  Northwest.  From  the  very 
beginning,  he  planned  the  establishment  of  a 
complete  educational  system;  and,  at  the  cost  of 
incessant  personal  labor  and  hardship,  and  of  a 
great  financial  burden  and  risk,  he  laid  its  founda- 
tions broad  and  deep.  His  educational  work  in 
Oregon  during  those  early  years,  and  his  develop- 
ment of  that  work  subsequently,  stamps  him  as 
one  worthy  of  a  place  among  the  great  Catholic 
educational  pioneers. 

The    college    and   academy,   with   the   schools 
connected   with   them,    were   prospering,    and   in 

"O'Hara,  loc.  cit.;    Blanchet,  Hist.  Sketches,  p.  143. 
"  Blanchet,  op.  cit.,  p.  158. 


Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho  161 

1849,  the  Sisters  opened  another  academy  and 
school  at  Oregon  City,  the  archiepiscopal  resi- 
dence, on  land  donated  by  Dr.  John  McLaughlin, 
the  "Father  of  Oregon."  43  The  discovery  of 
gold  in  California,  with  the  tide  of  emigration 
from  Oregon  that  followed,  seriously  imperilled 
the  future  of  Catholic  education  in  the  Terri- 
tory. Not  only  many  of  the  laity  left  the  coun- 
try, but  members  of  the  clergy  and  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  sisterhood  newly  implanted  in  the 
diocese  went  to  California,  to  take  up  religious 
or  educational  work  there.  St.  Joseph's  College 
was  closed,  and  the  Archbishop  was  left  prac- 
tically without  Catholic  teachers.  But  the  spirit 
of  the  intrepid  pioneer  and  apostle  rose  superior 
to  the  crisis.  After  journeying  to  South  America, 
on  a  collecting  tour,  to  relieve  his  serious  finan- 
cial embarrassments,  he  hastened  to  Montreal, 
to  secure,  if  possible,  new  religious  teachers  for 
his  schools.  Meanwhile,  with  an  undaunted 
faith  in  the  future,  he  purchased  a  large  unfin- 
ished frame  building  in  the  rising  city  of  Port- 
land, to  be  used  as  an  academy  and  school.44 

The  Archbishop's  appeal  for  teachers  was  re- 
sponded to  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  of 
Jesus  and  Mary,  a  teaching  community  that  had 
been  founded  in  Canada  only  a  few  years  before; 
and  on  October  21,  1859,  twelve  of  the  Sisters 
reached  Portland,  after  a  journey  by  way  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama.  Sister  Mary  Alphonse  was 
named  superior.  The  young  sisterhood  entered 
upon  its  pioneer  educational  work  in  the  Far 

4S  Gleanings,  p.  54. 
44  Gleanings,  p.  56  seq. 


1 62  In  the  Far  Western  States 

Northwest  with  the  enthusiasm  and  zeal  charac- 
teristic of  a  new  religious  organization.  St. 
Mary's  Academy  was  at  once  opened  in  the 
building  at  Portland,  with  a  school  in  connection 
with  it.  The  schools  at  Oregon  City  and  St.  Paul 
were  reopened,  and  another  school  started  in  the 
more  central  part  of  Portland.  The  academy 
also  had  soon  to  be  enlarged.  In  1863,  twelve 
more  Sisters  arrived.  An  academy  and  school 
were  now  opened  at  Salem,  the  capital,  and  sim- 
ilar institutions  soon  after  at  The  Dalles.  In 
1866,  St.  Mary's  Academy  was  chartered  by  the 
State.45 

With  the  erection  of  a  novitiate  in  Oregon, 
and  the  gradual  growth  of  the  community,  the 
educational  activity  of  the  Sisters  was  still  further 
broadened.  Academies  and  schools  were  opened 
at  Jacksonville,  in  southern  Oregon,  at  Baker 
City,  and  at  other  places.  St.  Mary's  Academy 
in  Portland  was  further  enlarged  and  its  faculty 
increased,  and,  with  the  steady  growth  of  the 
curriculum,  it  came  to  be  recognized,  even  by  non- 
Catholics,  as  one  of  the  leading  educational  in- 
stitutions in  the  Northwest.  In  1866,  its  charter 
was  revised,  and  under  the  name  of  St.  Mary's 
Academy  and  College,  it  was  empowered  to  con- 
fer collegiate  degrees.48 

St.  Michael's  College  for  boys  was  begun  by 
Archbishop  Blanchet  in  i8y2.47  Other  teaching 
orders  were,  in  time,  introduced  into  the  diocese, 
notably  the  Benedictines,  the  Christian  Brothers, 

"Gleanings,  pp.  14-106. 
48  Ib.,  pp.  110-191. 
47  Ib.,  p.  116. 


[  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho  163 

and  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross  for  the 
education  of  boys — the  last  mentioned  having 
established  Columbia  University  at  Portland; 
and  the  Benedictine  Sisters,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy, 
the  Dominican  and  Franciscan  Sisters,  and  the 
Sisters-Servants  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of 
Mary,  for  the  education  of  girls.  The  Sisterhood 
of  St.  Mary  was  established  at  Beaverton,  in 
i886.48  An  event  of  historical  interest  was  the 
dedication  at  Oregon  City,  in  October,  1907,  of 
McLaughlin  Institute,  a  grammar  and  high 
school,  near  the  spot  where  lie  the  mortal  re- 
mains of  the  "Father  of  Oregon,"  the  earliest 
benefactor,  as  he  was  ever  the  firm  friend,  of 
Catholic  education  in  the  State.49 

The  progressive  spirit  of  Catholic  educators  in 
Oregon  was  shown  by  the  formation,  in  1906,  of 
the  Catholic  Educational  Association  of  Oregon. 
The  Association  has  brought  about  uniformity  in 
text-books  and  courses  of  study  throughout  the 
archdiocese,  and  secured  recognition  by  the  State 
of  the  Catholic  school  system.  By  the  school  laws 
of  1910,  "a  representative  of  the  Catholic  Edu- 
cational Association  of  Oregon"  is  given  a  place 
on  the  Board  of  Standardization. 

WASHINGTON  was  organized  as  a  separate 
Territory  in  1863,  but  for  a  score  of  years  after- 
ward its  growth  was  very  slow.  The  history  of 
Catholic  education  in  the  Territory  begins  prop- 
erly with  the  establishment  of  the  See  of  Walla 
Walla,  and  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  Augus- 
tine M.  A.  Blanchet,  of  Montreal,  as  its  first 

48  Cath.  Dir.,  1910,  p.  784. 

49  The  Portland  Cath.  Sentinel,  Oct.  10,  1907. 


1 64  In  the  Far  Western  States 

bishop,  in  i846.50  The  new  bishop  was  a  brother 
of  the  first  archbishop  of  Oregon,  and  shared  in 
his  educational  zeal.  In  December,  1856,  in 
answer  to  his  request,  five  Sisters  of  Charity  of 
Providence,  with  Mother  Joseph  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  as  superioress,  arrived  from  Montreal  by 
way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  established 
themselves  at  Fort  Vancouver,  where,  in  the  fol- 
lowing February,  they  opened  a  school.51  Other 
Sisters  came  in  subsequent  years,  and  with  their 
arrival,  and  the  establishment  of  a  novitiate,  the 
work  of  the  community  was  extended.  A  school 
was  opened  at  Steilacoom  in  1863,  and  an  academy 
at  Walla  Walla  the  following  year.  They  took 
charge,  also,  of  several  Indian  schools.  Acad- 
emies were  subsequently  established  at  North 
Yakima,  Olympia,  and  Sprague,  their  central 
house  remaining  at  Vancouver.52 

Another  important  development  came  with  the 
establishment  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names 
in  Seattle  in  1880.  The  community  had  grown 
strong  in  Oregon,  and,  with  the  rise  of  Seattle  and 
the  increase  of  immigrants  in  Washington,  it 
was  decided  to  extend  their  work  to  that  State. 
The  unpretentious  academy  which  was  made  the 
center  of  their  labors  in  Seattle  has  expanded 
with  the  growth  of  the  population,  until  to-day, 
with  a  magnificent  structure  on  Capitol  Hill,  it  is 
justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  schools 
for  girls  in  the  country.  Several  other  academies 

80  Shea,  op.  cit.,  pp.  319,  324. 

"O'Hara,  Pioneer  Cath.  Hist,  of  Oregon,  c.  XVIII;  Glean- 
ings, pp.  58,  69. 

62  O'Hara,  loc.  cit. ;  Cath.  Northwestern  Progress,  Apr.  3, 
1908;  Cath.  Dir.,  1910,  p.  627. 


Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho  165 

and  schools  were  also  established  by  the  Sisters 
in  Seattle.  An  academy  which  was  founded  at 
Spokane  in  1888  has  developed  into  an  insti- 
tution whose  efficiency  is  recognized  far  and  near. 
The  work  of  the  Sisters  in  the  State  has  been  con- 
centrated in  Seattle  and  Spokane,  and  a  worthy 
tribute  to  their  merit  and  an  evidence  of  the  esteem 
in  which  they  are  regarded  as  educators  by  all 
classes  of  the  population,  is  the  fact  that  the  nor- 
mal school  departments  of  the  Holy  Names 
academies  in  both  these  places  have  secured  recog- 
nition from  the  State  and  been  placed  on  the  same 
footing  as  the  State  normal  schools.53 

The  development  of  Catholic  education  in 
Washington,  especially  in  the  earlier  period,  with 
which  we  are  here  chiefly  concerned,  centered 
largely  about  the  work  of  these  two  communities; 
but  other  teaching  bodies  have  also  had  important 
influence.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the 
Benedictine  Fathers,  the  Christian  Brothers,  and 
the  Brothers  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes,  who  estab- 
lished either  colleges  or  secondary  and  ele- 
mentary schools  for  boys;  and  the  Benedictine 
Sisters  (two  branches),  the  Sisters  of  St.  Domi- 
nic (two  branches),  the  Franciscan  Sisters,  the 
Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  Visitation  Nuns, 
and  the  Sisters-Servants  of  the  Immaculate 
Heart,  who  opened  either  academies  for  girls  or 
schools  for  both  girls  and  boys.54 

In  IDAHO,  the  first  Catholic  school  was  estab- 
lished at  Idaho  City,  by  Holy  Name  Sisters  from 

M  Gleanings,  pp.  147-163. 

**  Cath.  Dir. ;    Records  of  the  mother-house,  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis,  Glen  Riddle,  P; 


i66  In  the  Far  Western  States 

Oregon,  in  August,  i867.55  In  January  of  the 
same  year,  through  the  influence  of  Father  Tous- 
saint  Mesplie,  the  pioneer  secular  priest  of 
Idaho,  and  other  leading  Catholics,  the  terri- 
torial legislature  passed,  by  a  close  vote,  a  bill 
providing  for  the  support  of  Catholic  schools 
from  the  public  funds.  The  bill  was,  however, 
vetoed  by  the  Governor.  Father  Lootens,  who 
was  made  bishop  the  following  year,  was  anxious 
to  provide  schools  for  the  diocese,  but  the  popu- 
lation, consisting  chiefly  of  miners,  was  very 
small.  In  consequence  of  an  exodus  of  the  set- 
tlers, the  school  at  Idaho  City  was  closed  in 
i869.56  The  population  increased  but  slowly. 
In  1889,  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  came  to 
the  diocese,  and  opened  St.  Teresa's  Academy 
and  school  at  Boise,  and  since  then  Catholic  edu- 
cation has  made  notable  progress.  Another  school 
was  begun  by  the  Sisters  at  Pocatello,  in  1892." 
Benedictine  Sisters  from  Switzerland  established 
a  convent  and  school  at  Cottonwood  in  1906, 
and  have  also  taken  charge  of  several  other 
schools.58  The  Rt.  Rev.  A.  J.  Glorieux,  who  was 
made  bishop  in  1885,  has  labored  strenuously  in 
behalf  of  the  educational  development  of  the 
diocese,  and  besides  the  teaching  bodies  already 
mentioned  there  have  been  introduced  into  Idaho 
the  Brothers  of  Christian  Education  from  Can- 
ada, who  have  charge  of  a  school  at  De  Smet, 
at  the  Coeur  d'  Alene  Indian  Mission;  the  Sis- 

"  Gleanings,  p.  113. 

M  Founders  of  the  Church  in  Idaho,  in  Amer.  Eccl.  Rev., 
V.  32,  p.  6  seq. 

"  Records  of  the  mother-house. 
68  Cath.  Dir.,  1910,  pp.  247,  766. 


California  and^Nevada  167 

ters  of  Charity  of  Providence,  from  Missoula; 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  from  Tipton,  Ind. ;  the 
Sisters-Servants  of  the  Immaculate  Heart,  from 
Scranton;  and  the  Ursuline  Sisters  from  Toledo, 
O.  There  are  two  schools  for  boys  in  the  diocese, 
six  academies  for  girls,  and  eight  parish  schools, 
with  a  Catholic  population  of  about  I5,ooo.59 

CALIFORNIA     AND     NEVADA 

The  second  period  in  the  educational  history 
of  CALIFORNIA  60  begins  with  the  arrival,  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  year  1850,  of  its  newly  con- 
secrated bishop,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Alemany,  a 
Spanish  Dominican,  who  had  been  at  the  head 
of  his  Order  in  Ohio.01  California  had  become  a 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  since  the  recent 
discovery  of  gold,  immigrants  were  pouring  into 
the  country,  many  of  them  being  Irish  Catholics. 
There  was  urgent  need  of  priests,  and,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  new  bishop,  true  to  the  traditions  of 
the  Dominican  Order,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the 
pioneer  clergy,  there  was  hardly  less  urgent  need 
of  schools.  As  evidence  of  this  conviction,  it 
may  be  stated  that  the  first  church  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, "a  little  wooden  shanty"  erected  in  1849 
on  the  site  of  the  St.  Francis'  Church  of  later 
times,  had  been  made  to  serve  also  as  a  school.62 
In  1851,  the  State  legislature  passed  an  act  which 
legalized  municipal  support  of  denominational 

69  Cath.   Dir.,  p.  247. 

80  For  an  account  of  the  early  mission  schools,  cf.  The  Cath. 
Sch.  System  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  51. 
61  Shea,  op.  cit,  pp.  356,  704. 
82  Gleeson,  Hist,  of  the  Cath.  Ch.  in  Cal.,  p.  270. 


i68  In  the  Far  Western  States 

schools.  Teachers  in  Catholic  schools,  whether 
lay  or  religious,  were  accordingly  paid  by  the 
municipal  authorities.  But  the  bright  hopes 
which  this  legislation  engendered  in  the  minds 
of  Catholics  were  short-lived.  After  four  years, 
the  act  was  repealed,  and  the  denominational 
schools  ruthlessly  abandoned  to  their  fate.63  The 
spirit  of  Bishop  Alemany  and  his  clergy  and 
people  was,  however,  equal  to  the  emergency. 
From  Europe  he  had  brought  with  him  Sister 
Mary  Goemare,  a  Dominican  Nun  from  Paris, 
who  at  once  opened  a  school  at  Monterey.  Sister 
Goemare  was  joined,  in  the  spring  of  the  same 
year,  by  Sisters  Francis  and  Aloysia  from  the 
Dominican  convent  in  Ohio,  and  a  novitiate  was 
opened.  An  academy  and  school  was  founded 
at  Monterey  the  same  year,  and  later  on  at  San 
Francisco  and  other  places  in  the  State.  The 
mother-house  of  the  community  was  afterwards 
established  at  San  Rafael,  where  a  Dominican 
college  was  founded.64  In  1851,  the  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame  of  Namur  who  had  been  brought 
to  Oregon  some  years  before  by  Father  De  Smet, 
were  induced  to  come  to  labor  in  California;  and, 
being  joined  by  four  members  of  the  Order  from 
Cincinnati,  they  established  an  academy  and 
parish  school  at  San  Jose.05  From  here  as  the 
mother-house,  the  Sisters  opened  academies  and 
schools  at  Marysville  (1856),  San  Francisco 
(1866),  Santa  Clara  (1872),  and  other  places. GG 

88  Gleeson,  Hist,  of  the  Cath.  Ch.  in  Cal.,  p.  273. 
64  Records  of  the  mother-house,  San  Rafael. 
88  Records    of    mother-house,    Cincinnati;     cf.    Chapter    II, 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  of  Namur. 
84  Records. 


California  and  Nevada  169 

At  the  same  time,  a  strong  central  institution  was 
built  up,  the  Notre  Dame  College  at  San  Jose 
becoming  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  col- 
leges for  girls  in  the  West.  Sisters  of  Charity 
from  Emmittsburg  were  brought  by  the  bishop 
to  the  diocese  in  1852,  and  assumed  charge 
of  several  schools.67 

Bishop  Alemany  was  transferred  from  the  See 
of  Monterey  and  named  as  the  first  archbishop 
of  San  Francisco  in  1853,  the  northeastern  sec- 
tion of  the  State  being  subsequently  erected  as 
the  Diocese  of  Sacramento.  The  archbishop 
struggled  zealously  to  provide  schools  and  teach- 
ers for  the  towns  and  cities  that  were  springing 
up  around  him  as  though  by  magic.  He  sent  the 
Rev.  H.  P.  Gallagher  to  Europe,  and  he  secured 
in  Ireland  a  colony  of  Presentation  Nuns  and 
another  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  who  arrived  in 
California  in  i854.cs  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names 
were  brought  from  Montreal,  in  1868,  and 
from  Oakland  as  a  center  they  have  established 
both  schools  and  academies,  the  most  noted  of 
which  is  the  College  of  the  Holy  Names,  at  the 
same  place.09  Among  the  other  teaching  com- 
munities which  were  brought  into  the  diocese  sub- 
sequently were,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  of  Car- 
ondelet,  Mo.;  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross; 
the  Dominican  Sisters,  from  Brooklyn;  the  Sis- 
ters of  Charity,  from  Dubuque;  the  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  and  the  Ursulines.70 


97  Shea,  p.  705 ;    Gleeson,  op.  cit,  p.  210. 
68  Gleeson,  p.  217. 

"Gleanings,  p.  100;    Cath.  Dir.,  p.  208. 
70  Cath.  Dir.,  p.  209. 


i7oj  In  the  Far  Western  States 

Nor  was  the  education  of  boys  neglected.  Rev. 
John  Nobili,  S.  J.,  who  had  come  from  Oregon 
two  years  before,  opened  a  small  school  for  boys 
at  Santa  Clara,  in  March,  1851,  which  was  the 
beginning  of  Santa  Clara  College.71  Three  years 
later,  Father  Maraschi,  S.  J.,  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  present  College  of  St.  Ignatius,  at 
San  Francisco.72  An  establishment  for  boys, 
capable  of  accommodating  two  hundred  pupils, 
was  also  erected  in  the  suburbs  of  San  Francisco. 
The  teachers  at  first  were  secular  priests  and  lay- 
men, but  when  Archbishop  Alemany  secured  the 
Christian  Brothers  in  1868,  the  institution, 
known  as  St.  Mary's  College,  was  turned  over 
to  them.73  Other  schools,  both  secondary  and 
elementary,  were  opened  by  the  Brothers  in  the 
city  as  well  as  in  other  places.  Their  most 
important  foundation  was  St.  Mary's  College, 
Oakland,  which  later  became  a  new  provincial 
center  of  the  order.74  The  Brothers  of  Mary, 
from  Dayton,  O.,  established  St.  Mary's  College, 
Stockton,  and  schools  at  San  Francisco  and  San 
Jose.75 

Bishop  Alemany  was  succeeded  at  Monterey 
and  Los  Angeles  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thaddeus 
Amat,  who  labored  with  no  less  zeal  than  his 
predecessor  in  the  cause  of  the  schools.  Sisters 
of  Charity  were  secured  from  Emmittsburg  and 


"Doyle,  J.  T.,  Address  at  Santa  Clara  College,  Aug.  9,  1870; 
Bryan  J.  Clinch,  The  Jesuits  in  Amer.  California,  in  Rec. 
Amer.  Cath.  Hist.  Soc.,  XVII,  p.  135  seq. 

"Clinch,  op.  cit.,  p.  142. 

73  Gleeson,  op.  cit,  p.  276. 

74  Cath.  Dir. ;   cf.  Chapter  IV  supra,  The  Christian  Brothers. 

75  Cath.  Dir. 


California  and  Nevada  171 

France,  and  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart 
were  established  in  the  diocese,  with  their 
mother-house  at  Los  Angeles;  but  it  was  to  the 
communities  already  settled  in  the  Archdiocese 
of  San  Francisco  that  Bishop  Amat  and  his  suc- 
cessors naturally  looked  first  in  order  to  provide 
teachers  for  the  schools.  Several  of  these,  in- 
cluding the  Christian  Brothers,  extended  their 
work  to  the  diocese.  The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph, 
of  Carondelet,  have  taken  charge  of  many  of 
the  schools,  having  founded  a  new  provincial 
center  of  the  work  of  the  Order  at  Los  Angeles.76 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell,  after  being 
consecrated,  in  1861,  as  bishop  and  vicar-apos- 
tolic of  the  northeastern  portion  of  California, 
subsequently  known  as  the  Diocese  of  Sacra- 
mento, also  turned  to  the  communities  in  the 
Archdiocese  of  San  Francisco  to  obtain  religious 
teachers.  A  number  of  these  established  schools 
in  this  part  of  the  State,  and  several  communi- 
ties were  secured  from  eastern  centers. 

An  important  event,  historically  as  well  as 
practically,  in  the  educational  annals  of  Cali- 
fornia, was  the  decision  of  the  Hague  Arbitra- 
tion Tribunal,  in  1902,  which,  at  the  instance  of 
the  United  States  Government,  obligated  Mex- 
ico to  the  payment  annually  of  the  sum  of 
$43,050.99  (Mexican),  as  the  interest  on  the 
Pious  Fund,  to  the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco 
and  the  Bishop  of  Monterey,  with  the  immediate 
payment  of  the  sum  of  $1,420,682.67  (Mexi- 
can), as  accumulated  arrears.  The  Pious  Fund 
consisted  originally  of  property  donated  by  pious 
"Cath.  Dir. 


172  In  the  Far  Western  States 

persons  to  the  Society  of  Jesus  for  the  benefit  of 
the  missions,  including  the  mission  schools.77 

The  western  section  of  NEVADA  is  attached  to 
the  See  of  Sacramento,  and  in  the  early  mining 
settlements  of  this  part  of  the  State  several 
Catholic  schools  were  established  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Bishop  O'Connell.  Through  the 
efforts  of  the  Rev.  P.  Manogue,  who  afterwards 
became  Bishop  of  Sacramento,  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  opened  a  school  at  Nevada  City  and  an 
academy  and  school  at  Virginia  City,  in  the  year 

1864.78  but  neither  of  these  establishments  has 
been  permanent.     An  academy  and  a  school  at 
Reno  were  founded  by  Dominican  Sisters  from 
New  Orleans. 

TEXAS,    NEW   MEXICO,    ARIZONA,    OKLAHOMA 

The  Franciscan  missions  and  schools  in  TEXAS 
were  suppressed  by  the  Spanish  Government  in 

1812.79  The   Rev.  John  M.   Odin,   a   Lazarist 
from  Missouri,  who  was  laboring  as  a  mission- 
ary in  Texas,  was  named  bishop  and  vicar-apos- 
tolic  in    1842,    Texas   having   become    an    inde- 
pendent republic.     It  contained  at  the  time  only 
four  priests.80     Bishop  Odin,  like  his  fellow-Laz- 
arist,  Bishop  Rosatti,  of  St.  Louis,  was  not  only 
a  saintly  man,  but  a  man  of  unbounded  faith  in 
the  virtue  of  a  truly  Christian  education.      He 

77  Recueil  des  Actes  et  Protocoles  concernant  le  Litige  du 
"  Fonds  Pieux  de  Californies,"  p.  no  (State  Dept.  Lib.); 
Darby,  Modern  Pacific  Settlements,  p.  135;  Shea,  p.  710. 

7S  Cath.  Encyc.,  Nevada. 

7*For  the  early  mission  schools  in  Texas,  see  Cath.  Sch.  Sys- 
tem in  U.  S.,  p.  46. 

80  Cath.  Encyclopedia,  Galveston ;    Shea,  op.  cit.,  IV,  p.  288. 


Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Oklahoma        173 

induced  the  Ursuline  Sisters  at  New  Orleans  to 
send  a  colony  to  Texas;  and  in  1847  they 
founded  an  academy  and  school  at  Galveston, 
and,  four  years  later,  a  similar  establishment  at 
San  Antonio.81  From  Lyons,  France,  he  brought 
the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  who  estab- 
lished an  academy  and  school  at  Brownsville,  in 
1853.  Other  colonies  of  these  religious  came 
later,  and  founded  schools  in  many  places.82 
The  Brothers  of  Mary,  from  Ohio,  were  also 
brought  to  Texas,  where  they  opened  a  school  in 
San  Antonio,  in  1852.  The  work  of  the  Broth- 
ers has  developed  with  the  growth  of  the  State, 
several  important  colleges  being  founded,  as  well 
as  a  number  of  schools.83  The  Oblate  Fathers, 
in  1854,  took  charge  of  the  college  and  seminary 
which  the  bishop  established.84  In  1858,  a  law 
was  passed  by  the  legislature  of  Texas,  which 
practically  provided  for  the  support  of  denomi- 
national schools  from  the  public  funds;  but  this 
law  was  subsequently  repealed.85 

When  Bishop  Odin  was  promoted  to  the 
archiepiscopal  see  of  New  Orleans,  in  1861,  he 
was  succeeded  in  Texas  by  Bishop  C.  M.  Dubuis, 
a  prelate  who  shared  not  only  his  predecessor's 
indefatigable  missionary  zeal  but  also  his  enthu- 
siasm in  the  cause  of  education.  Under  Bishop 
Dubuis,  the  development  of  Catholic  education 
was  carried  steadily  onward.  The  teaching 

81  Records  of  the  mother-house,  New  Orleans. 

82  For  the   development  of  the  work  of  these   Sisters,   see 
Chapter  III,  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word. 

83  See  Chapter  IV,  Brothers  of  Mary. 

M  Cath.  Encyclopedia ;    Shea,  op.  cit,  p.  689. 
"Shea,  p.  691. 


174  In  the  Far  Western  States 

orders  already  in  Texas  extended  their  work, 
forming  new  schools  and  strengthening  those 
already  existing,  while  other  communities  were 
likewise  introduced.  Chief  among  these  were  the 
Sisters  of  Divine  Providence,  who  were  brought 
from  Lorraine,  France,  to  Austin,  in  1866,  their 
central  establishment  being  transferred  to  Cas- 
troville  two  years  later,  where  they  opened  an 
academy  and  school.  The  community,  as  it  in- 
creased in  number,  took  charge  of  schools  and 
academies  in  many  places,  not  only  in  Texas,  but 
also  in  other  dioceses  throughout  the  Southwest 
and  the  South.  In  1896,  the  mother-house  was 
transferred  to  San  Antonio.80 

Out  of  the  Diocese  of  Galveston,  the  dioceses 
of  San  Antonio  and  Dallas  and  the  Vicariate 
of  Brownsville  have  been  formed.  These  new 
sees  have  drawn  the  teachers  for  their  schools 
largely  from  the  communities  existing  in  the 
original  Diocese  of  Galveston,  especially  the 
sisterhoods  of  the  Incarnate  Word  and  Divine 
Providence,  although  other  communities  have 
likewise  been  introduced  into  the  State.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  Dominican  Sisters 
from  Ohio,  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  the 
School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Mary,  from  Lockport,  N.  Y.  The  Con- 
gregation of  the  Holy  Cross,  the  Basilian  Fath- 
ers and  the  Marist  Brothers  have  established 
schools  for  boys.87 

The  territory  included  in  NEW  MEXICO,  when 
ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1848,  embraced, 

MCath.  Dir. 
87  Cath.  Dir. 


Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Oklahoma        175 

besides  the  State  of  that  name  today,  Utah, 
Nevada,  and  a  large  part  of  Arizona  and 
Colorado.  The  civilized  inhabitants  were,  how- 
ever, mostly  confined  to  the  present  limits  of  New 
Mexico.  The  population  had  declined,  and  so 
also  had  religion;  and  although  schools  were 
taught  at  the  larger  missions,  at  least  from  time 
to  time,  there  was  little  of  the  old  Franciscan  zeal 
for  education  left.88  The  repeated  efforts  of 
Bishop  Tamaron,  of  Durango,  about  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  to  establish  schools  in 
all  the  missions  of  New  Mexico,  did  not  meet  with 
much  response.89  Governor  Gavino  Perez's 
attempt  to  establish  schools,  in  1837,  was  the 
occasion  of  an  insurrection  which  cost  him  his 
life.90  When  an  American  bishop  was  appointed 
in  1850,  the  inhabitants  numbered  about  70,000, 
mostly  Mexicans  and  Indians,  with  some  Euro- 
peans in  the  large  towns.  They  were  generally 
Catholics,  at  least  in  the  observance  of  the  out- 
ward forms  of  worship,  but  the  spirit  of  religion 
appeared  to  be  almost  extinct.  There  were  but 
fifteen  priests,  six  of  these  being  incapacitated 
for  work  by  old  age.01  Some  bright  spots 
appeared,  nevertheless,  in  the  dark  picture.  The 
Rev.  Antonio  Jose  Martinez,  pastor  at  Taos,  a 
secular  priest  and  a  man  of  learning,  opened  a 
school  soon  after  his  arrival  there,  in  1826,  he 
himself  being  the  principal  teacher,  and  the  school 

88  For  the  early  mission  schools,  see  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S., 
P-  39- 

*9  Shea,  op.  cit,  IV,  p.  296. 

90  Ib.,  p.  305. 

Ib.,    loc.   cit;     Hewlett,   Life   of   Bishop   Machebeuf,   pp. 
155,  164. 


176  In  the  Far  Western  States 

being  taught  in  his  own  house.  He  also  estab- 
lished a  printing-office,  and  from  this,  the  first 
printing-office  in  New  Mexico,  came  its  first  news- 
paper, as  well  as  school  books  and  catechisms. 
Father  Martinez  had  no  sympathy  for  America 
or  things  American,  though  he  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  directly  involved  in  the  uprising  that 
led  to  the  massacre  of  Governor  Bent  and 
others,  in  i847-92 

The  man  selected  for  this  unpromising  harvest- 
field  was  great  enough  to  set  his  hand  coura- 
geously to  the  work,  although  he  realized  fully 
the  difficulties,  and  realized  too  that  he  had  to 
confront  them  almost  single-handed.  Before  be- 
ing made  Bishop  andVicar-Apostolic  of  Santa  Fe, 
the  Rt.  Rev.  John  B.  Lamy  had  labored  in  the 
Diocese  of  Cincinnati.  A  native  of  Lempides, 
France,  he  had  distinguished  himself  in  the 
pioneer  missions  of  Ohio  by  a  rare  degree  of 
priestly  zeal,  prudence,  and  endurance.  His  atti- 
tude towards  education  was  shown  by  his  opening 
a  school  for  boys  in  his  own  house  at  Santa  Fe 
soon  after  his  arrival.  Father  Machebeuf,  a 
brother-priest  in  Ohio,  who  later  became  Bishop 
of  Denver,  joined  himself  to  Bishop  Lamy  for 
the  work  in  New  Mexico,  and,  writing  at  the 
time  of  the  educational  views  which  they  shared, 
he  said: 

"As  the  source  of  evil  here  is  the  profound 
ignorance  of  the  people,  the  first  remedy  must 
be  instruction,  and  for  this  we  need  Christian 
schools  for  the  youth  of  both  sexes,  but  especially 

92  Hewlett,  p.  228;    Haines,  Hist,  of  N.  Mex.,  p.  186  seq. ; 
Prince,  Hist.  Sketches  of  N.  Mex. 


Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Oklahoma        177 

for  young  girls.  The  means  of  forming  them  to 
virtue  and  to  good  example,  which  is  rare  in 
New  Mexico,  is  the  establishment  of  religious 
houses  conducted  by  persons  devoted  to  their 
calling,  and  filled  with  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice. 
To  this  end  the  bishop  has  already  opened  a 
school  for  boys  in  our  house,  and  he  has  knocked 
at  many  a  door  in  the  United  States  in  order  to 
secure  Sisters  for  the  girls."93 

The  bishop  had  gone  to  attend  the  First  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  but  before  leaving,  he  di- 
rected Father  Machebeuf  to  purchase  a  large 
house  for  an  academy  and  convent — the  home  of 
the  hoped-for  sisterhood. 

The  Sisters  of  Loretto,  in  Kentucky,  responded 
to  Bishop  Lamy's  appeal,  and  in  January,  1853, 
four  Sisters,  with  Sister  Mary  Magdalen  Hay- 
den  as  superior,  opened  the  Academy  of  Our 
Lady  of  Light  in  Santa  Fe.94  Their  arrival 
heralded  the  dawning  of  a  new  era  in  New  Mex- 
ico. The  attendance  at  the  academy  and  school 
far  exceeded  expectations.  A  novitiate  was  estab- 
lished, and  more  Sisters  came  from  Loretto. 
Schools  were  soon  opened  by  the  Sisters  at  Taos 
and  Mora,  and  later  on,  academies  and  schools 
at  Las  Vegas,  Socorro,  Bernalillo,  Las  Cruces, 
and  other  places.95  The  Sisters  of  Mercy,  too, 
established  a  new  mother-house  at  Silver  City, 
and  founded  an  academy  and  school  there  and  at 
Mesilla.06 

93  Hewlett,  op.  cit,  p.  181. 

M  Records  of  the  mother-house,  Loretto ;    Cath.  School  Sys- 
tem in  U.  S.,  Sisters  of  Loretto,  p.  231. 
"Hewlett,  p.   187  seq. 
99  Cath.  Dir. 


178  In  the  Far  Western  States 

To  secure  religious  teachers  for  boys  was  even 
more  difficult,  but  in  1859,  after  repeated  fail- 
ures in  the  attempt,  the  bishop  succeeded  in 
obtaining  four  Christian  Brothers  from  France, 
who,  under  Brother  Hilarien,  opened  a  school  in 
Santa  Fe  which  was  the  beginning  of  the  present 
St.  Michael's  College.97  The  Brothers  also 
established  schools  at  Bernalillo  and  Las  Vegas. 

Among  other  communities  which  came  to  the 
diocese  later,  may  be  mentioned  the  Sisters  of 
Charity,  from  Mt.  St.  Joseph,  O.,  and  the  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Francis,  from  Lafayette.98 

Although  there  are  only  about  two  dozen  dis- 
tinctively Catholic  educational  institutions  in  the 
State,  for  a  Catholic  population  of  127,000,  yet 
in  many  of  the  country  missions,  the  inhabitants 
being  entirely  Catholic,  the  teachers  are  Catholic, 
and  the  schools  virtually  so.99 

In  the  above  account,  the  foundation  of  Catho- 
lic education  in  ARIZONA,  which  was  erected  into 
a  vicariate-apostolic  in  1868,  under  the  Rt.  Rev. 
J.  B.  Salpointe,  has  also  been,  to  some  extent, 
included.  The  Sisters  of  Loretto  from  New 
Mexico  founded  academies  and  schools  at  Las 
Cruces,  Flagstaff,  and  Bisbee.  The  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  from  St.  Louis,  came  to  the  diocese 
in  1870,  and  opened  academies  and  schools  at 
Tucson,  Yuma,  Prescott,  Florence,  and  on  the 
Gila  River  Reservation.100  Sisters  of  the  Pre- 
cious Blood  from  Mariastein,  Ohio,  established 
a  school  at  Phoenix,  while  Sisters  of  the  Blessed 

97  Shea,  p.  663. 

"Cath.  Dir. 

"Cath.  Dir. 

100  Records  of  the  mother-house. 


Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Oklahoma        179 

Sacrament  took  charge  of  the  Indian  school  at 
St.  Michael's  Mission.101 

Before  OKLAHOMA  was  organized  as  a  Terri- 
tory, in  1890,  the  Benedictine  Fathers  had  been 
laboring  there,  a  college  having  been  established 
at  Sacred  Heart  in  1880.  In  1884,  at  the 
invitation  of  the  Benedictines,  Sisters  of  Mercy 
came  from  the  Diocese  of  Peoria,  and  opened  a 
school  for  the  Potawatomi  Indians  at  Sacred 
Heart.  Later  on  they  established  their  mother- 
house  at  Oklahoma  City,  opening  an  academy 
there  and  at  Ardmore,  besides  parish  schools  in 
a  number  of  places.102  The  year  after  its 
formation  as  a  Territory,  Oklahoma  was  erected 
into  a  vicariate-apostolic,  under  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Theophile  Meerschaert.  Benedictine  Sisters 
came  from  Iowa  the  same  year,  and  founded  an 
academy  at  Guthrie;  they  also  conduct  several 
parish  schools.103  The  Sisters  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, of  San  Antonio,  have  a  most  promising 
field  of  work  in  Oklahoma,  having  begun  labor  in 
the  diocese  in  the  year  1900,  by  the  opening  of  St. 
Joseph's  Institute,  at  Perry.  They  have  since 
taken  charge  of  a  large  number  of  parish 
schools.104  The  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  from  Glen 
Riddle,  Pa.,  began  work  in  the  diocese  in  1887, 
and  are  at  present  engaged  as  teachers  in  four 
Indian  schools.105  A  college  and  school  for  boys 
has  been  established  by  the  Brothers  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  at  Muskogee.106 

101  Cath.  Dir. 

02  Records  of  the  mother-house,  Oklahoma  City. 

Cath.  Dir. 

Records  of  the  mother-house,  San  Antonio. 
"  Records  of  the  mother-house. 

Cath.  Dir. 


180  In  the  Far  Western  States 

With  a  Catholic  population  in  1910  of  about 
33,000,  the  State  of  Oklahoma  has  36  parish 
schools  for  whites,  with  an  enrollment  of  3120 
pupils.107 

10TCath.  Dir.,  1910. 


CHAPTER   VII 

SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 
FIRST    PROVINCIAL    COUNCIL    OF    BALTIMORE 

WHILE  elementary  education  was  not  made  the 
object  of  any  formal  legislation  at  the  First 
Synod  of  Baltimore,  which  was  held  in  1791,. 
the  matter  was  evidently  discussed,  for  in  his 
pastoral  letter  the  following  year  Bishop  Carroll 
emphasized  "the  necessity  of  a  pious  and  Catholic 
education  of  the  young,"  and  expressed  the  hope 
that  young  men  trained  at  the  newly  founded 
college  at  Georgetown  might,  on  returning  to 
their  homes,  become  teachers  in  the  local  Catho- 
lic schools.1  The  first  important  legislation  on 
the  subject  dates  from  the  holding  of  the  First 
Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1829.  Be- 
'  tween  these  two  assemblies,  Catholic  education 
had  gone  forward  with  steady  strides.  Semi- 
naries, colleges,  academies,  and  schools  had  been 
established,  and  it  was  hoped  that  educational 
opportunities  might  be  provided,  under  Catholic 
auspices,  proportionate  to  the  Catholic  popu- 
lation. It  was  in  this  hope  and  spirit  that  the  fol- 
lowing canon  was  framed  in  the  First  Provincial 
Council : 

1  Shea,  Life  of  Archb.  Carroll,  p.  399. 
181 


1 82  School  Legislation 

"Since  it  is  evident  that  very  many  of  the 
young,  the  children  of  Catholic  parents,  espe- 
cially the  poor,  have  been  exposed  and  are  still 
exposed,  in  many  places  of  this  Province,  to  great 
danger  of  the  loss  of  faith  or  the  corruption  of 
morals,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  such  teachers 
as  could  safely  be  entrusted  with  so  great  an 
office,  we  judge  it  absolutely  necessary  that 
schools  should  be  established,  in  which  the  young 
may  be  taught  the  principles  of  faith  and 
morality,  while  being  instructed  in  letters."  2 

In  framing  this  canon,  the  members  of  the 
Council  were  but  enacting  into  a  general  law 
what  each  of  the  bishops  had  already  labored  to 
put  in  practice  within  his  own  jurisdiction,  by  the 
foundation  of  schools.3  Uniform  Catholic  text- 
books were  also  an  ideal  in  the  minds  of  the 
Fathers.  A  standard  catechism  was  to  be  pub- 
lished, and  non-Catholic  text-books  were  to  be 
subjected  to  revision  before  being  employed  in 
Catholic  schools.4  The  Second  Provincial  Coun- 
cil, held  in  1833,  attempted  to  give  practical 
effect  to  this  decree,  by  appointing  a  permanent 
standing  committee  to  supervise  the  preparation 
of  text-books  for  Catholic  schools.  No  book 
was  to  be  allowed  in  the  schools  which  did  not 
gain  the  approval  of  the  majority  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  the  Fathers  of  the  Council  promised 
to  do  their  utmost  to  secure  the  adoption  by 
Catholic  colleges  and  schools  of  the  text-books 
approved.5  These  decrees  on  text-books,  how- 

!  Decreta  Cone.  Prov.  et  Plen.  Bait.,  n.  34. 
8  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  249. 
4  Decreta,  n.  35. 
6  Decreta,  n.  9. 


First  Plenary  Council  183 

ever,  were  never  fully  or  effectively  carried  out, 
the  chief  difficulty  being  the  lack  of  Catholic 
books  in  sufficient  number  and  variety  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  schools.  The  legislation  is, 
nevertheless,  instructive.  It  points  to  what  has 
always  been  cherished  as  an  ideal,  and  it  shows 
how  this  ideal  may  be  realized  in  time,  through 
the  authority  of  the  Councils  of  the  Church. 
Efforts  to  bring  about  uniformity  even  in  the  use 
of  the  catechism  were  not  successful,  although 
the  work  of  the  Provincial  Councils  of  Baltimore 
in  this  respect  was  seconded  by  several  diocesan 
synods  at  other  places.  The  time,  in  fact,  was 
not  yet  ripe  for  such  legislation.  The  crying 
need  was  still — and  it  continued  to  be  so  for 
many  decades — the  building  up  of  Catholic 
schools.  And  the  legislation  of  the  First  Pro- 
vincial Council  on  this  more  fundamental  point 
came  to  be  regarded  by  many  members  of  the 
heirarchy,  in  the  course  of  time,  as  leaving  much 
to  be  desired. 

FIRST     PLENARY     COUNCIL 

In  the  seven  Provincial  Councils  of  Baltimore 
held  between  the  years  1829  and  1852,  there  was 
little  legislation  about  the  schools,  after  that  of 
the  first  two  Councils,  referred  to  above.6  But 
in  the  First  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  held 
the  latter  year,  while  an  overwhelming  tide  of 
Catholic  immigration  was  pouring  into  the  coun- 

'  In  the  Fourth  Council,  held  in  1840,  pastors  were  directed 
to  prevent  Catholic  pupils  in  the  public  schools  from  being 
made  to  join  in  the  use  of  the  Protestant  bible  and  Protestant 
hymns  and  prayers. — Decreta  Cone.  Prov.  et  Plen.,  n.  54. 


184  School  Legislation 

try,  the  problem  of  providing  Catholic  schools  in 
sufficient  number  was  taken  up  anew,  and  a 
solution  was  suggested  for  the  financial  difficulties 
involved.  The  decree  adopted  read: 

"We  exhort  the  bishops,  and,  in  view  of  the 
very  grave  evils  which  usually  result  from  the 
defective  education  of  youth,  we  beseech  them 
through  the  bowels  of  the  mercy  of  God,  to  see 
that  schools  be  established  in  connection  with  all 
the  churches  of  their  dioceses;  and,  if  it  be  neces- 
sary and  circumstances  permit,  to  provide,  from 
the  revenues  of  the  church  to  which  the  school  is 
attached,  for  the  support  of  competent  teach- 
ers.' 


"    7 


The  Council  also  made  an  effort  to  secure  the 
adoption  of  a  standard  English  as  well  as  a  Ger- 
man catechism.8 

PROVINCIAL    COUNCILS    OF    CINCINNATI 

The  feeling  that  there  should  be  stricter  legis- 
lation about  the  establishment  of  parish  schools 
and  their  attendance  by  Catholic  children  found 
formal  authoritative  expression  first  in  the  West. 
In  the  great  growing  commonwealths  lying  be- 
yond the  Alleghanies,  German  parishes  were 
numerous,  and  the  Germans,  both  clergy  and 
laity,  were  deeply  impressed  with  a  conviction  of 
the  necessity  of  the  parish  school.9  The  Fathers 
of  one  of  the  Provincial  Councils  of  Cincinnati, 
in  exhorting  pastors  to  establish  Catholic  schools, 

7  In  Decreta  Cone.  Prov.  et  Plen.  Bait,  1829-1852  n.  13,  p,  47, 

8  Ib.,  p.  29. 

*  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S. 


Provincial  Councils  of  Cincinnati  185 

held  up  the  zeal  of  the  German  parishes  in  this 
respect  as  a  model : 

"Our  excellent  German  congregations  leave  us 
nothing  to  desire  on  this  subject.  The  children 
attend  at  mass  every  morning,  they  sing  with  one 
accord  the  praises  of  God,  they  go  from  the 
church  to  the  school.  They  are  accustomed  to 
cleanliness  and  neatness  of  dress,  to  punctuality 
and  order,  to  diligence  and  affectionate  respect 
for  their  parents,  the  Reverend  Clergy,  and  their 
teachers.  We  have  nothing  more  at  heart  than 
that  the  pupils  of  our  English  schools  should 
imitate  these  examples."  10 

"In  the  minds  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Cincinnati 
Councils,"  it  has  been  said,  "the  question  of  re- 
ligious education  was  the  test  of  fidelity  or  in- 
fidelity to  God."  "  Among  the  Fathers  of  the 
First  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati,  which  met 
in  1855,  Archbishop  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  and 
Bishops  Rappe,  of  Cleveland,  Baraga,  of  Upper 
Michigan,  and  Spalding,  of  Louisville,  were  con- 
spicuous for  their  championship  of  Catholic 
schools,  which  were  made  the  subject  of  the  fol- 
lowing decree: 

"We  admonish  pastors  of  souls  again  and 
again  to  strive  by  all  the  means  in  their  power 
to  prevent  the  boys  and  girls  entrusted  to  them 
from  frequenting  those  schools  which  they  can- 
not attend  without  grave  danger  to  their  faith 
and  morals;  and  at  the  same  time  we  exhort 

10  Pastoral  Letter,  in  Acta  et  Decreta  Quatuor  Cone.  Prov. 
Cin.,  p.  93. 

11  Rt.  Rev.  J.  L.  Spalding,  in  Life  of  Archb.  Spalding,  p.  202. 


1 86  School  Legislation 

parents  to  aid  and  sustain  parochial  and  other 
schools  which  are  under  Catholic  direction."  " 

Bishop  Rappe  had  consistently  obliged  his 
parish  priests,  wherever  possible,  to  establish 
parochial  schools,  and  at  the  Fourth  Synod  of 
Cleveland,  held  in  1857,  he  embodied  this  obliga- 
tion in  the  statutes  of  the  diocese.13  At  the  Sec- 
ond Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati,  held  the 
following  year,  the  same  attitude  was  adopted 
and  made  binding  upon  all  the  bishops  of  the 
province : 

"It  is  the  judgment  of  the  Fathers  that  all 
pastors  of  souls  are  bound,  under  pain  of  mortal 
sin,  to  provide  a  Catholic  school  in  every  parish 
or  congregation  subject  to  them,  where  this  can 
be  done;  and  in  order  that  each  Ordinary  may 
know  what  are  the  parishes  in  which  this  obliga- 
tion exists,  they  decree  that  the  Tridentine  Law, 
s.  XXII,  c.  IX,  is  to  be  practically  enforced,  by 
which  rectors  of  churches  are  required  each  year 
to  render  an  exact  account  to  their  Ordinaries  of 
all  the  revenues  accruing  to  their  churches  in  any 
way,  which  they  therefore  strictly  enjoin  as  to  be 
observed  by  the  aforesaid  rectors."  14 

The  Province  of  Cincinnati  at  the  time  ex- 
tended from  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Mississippi; 
and  if  Catholics  throughout  this  section  have 
steadily  maintained  an  attitude  of  more  uncom- 
promising fidelity  to  the  principle  of  the  Catholic 
school  for  the  Catholic  child  than  those  of  any 
other  section  of  the  country,  it  has  been  due  very 

12  Decreta,  XIV. 

13  Shea,  Hist.  Cath.  Ch.  in  U.  S.,  IV,  p.  557. 
"  Decreta,  VI. 


Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  187 

largely  to  the  spirit  of  the  great  schoolmen  which 
found  permanent  expression  in  these  decrees. 
Their  educational  attitude  and  legislation  had  its 
influence,  too,  in  the  framing  of  the  school  decrees 
of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 

SECOND    PLENARY    COUNCIL    OF    BALTIMORE 

The  Second  Plenary  Council  was  attended  by 
seven  archbishops,  thirty-eight  bishops,  three 
mitred  abbots,  and  over  one  hundred  and  twenty 
theologians, — at  the  time,  the  largest  conciliary 
assemblage,  it  has  been  said,  since  the  Council 
of  Trent.15  The  legislative  enactments  of  the 
Council  covered  a  wide  range,  and  constitute  a 
body  of  laws  so  fully  developed,  so  admirably 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  Church  in  this  coun- 
try, and  so  precisely  and  clearly  expressed  that  the 
last  Plenary  Council  had  little  or  nothing  to  add 
to  many  of  them.  This  was  less  true,  however, 
in  the  matter  of  education  than  in  most  of  the 
other  matters  dealt  with.  Comparatively  little, 
in  fact,  was  done  by  the  Second  Plenary  Council 
in  the  way  of  educational  legislation.  The  Civil 
Was  was  just  over.  Catholic  education  had  been 
seriously  affected  by  it,  many  of  the  Sisters  having 
been  transferred  from  the  class-room  to  the  mili- 
tary hospital,  to  serve  as  nurses.10  Recruitment 
and  practical  reorganization  of  the  educational 
forces,  rather  than  further  development,  was  felt 
to  be  the  need  of  the  hour.  Hence  the  Council 

15  Spalding,  Life  of  Archb.  Spalding,  p.  304. 

16  Cf.  Chapter  II,  Mother  Angela  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  and  c.  Ill,  The  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Cincinnati. 


1 88  School  Legislation 

did  little  more  than  re-state  the  decrees  of  the 
previous  Baltimore  Councils. 

After  alluding  to  the  dangers  incident  to  the 
attendance  of  Catholic  children  at  the  public 
schools,  and  citing  former  decrees,  the  Fathers 
pointed  to  the  remedy  in  the  following  words: 

"The  best,  nay  the  only  remedy  that  remains, 
in  order  to  meet  these  very  grave  evils  and  incon- 
veniences, seems  to  lie  in  this,  that  in  every 
diocese  schools — each  close  to  the  church — 
should  be  erected,  in  which  the  Catholic  youth 
may  be  instructed  in  letters  and  the  noble  arts  as 
well  as  in  religion  and  sound  morals. 

"Following,  therefore,  in  the  footsteps  of  our 
predecessors,  we  urgently  bid  pastors  of  souls  to 
devote  their  energy  as  far  as  they  can  to  the 
erection  of  parochial  schools,  wherever  this  is 
possible.  In  these  schools,  carried  on  under  the 
eyes  of  the  pastors,  the  dangers  which  we  have 
just  said  inhere  in  the  public  schools  will  be 
avoided;  the  pupils  will  be  kept  free  from  that 
indifferentism  which  is  now  so  rampant;  they 
will  learn  to  walk  in  the  Catholic  way,  and  to 
bear  the  yoke  of  the  Lord  from  their  youth."  17 

The  multiplication  of  religious  communities 
and  the  employment  of  their  members  as  teachers 
in  the  schools  was  warmly  commended  ;1S  and 
where  religious  teachers  could  not  be  had,  the 
greatest  care,  the  Fathers  declared,  should  be 
taken  to  select  lay  teachers  distinguished  by  their 
faith  and  character,  as  well  as  knowledge.19 

1T  Decreta,  430,  431. 
"  Ib.,  n.  432. 
19  Ib.,  n.  433- 


Instruction  of  the  Propaganda  189 

Parents  were  bidden  to  co-operate  with  their  pas- 
tors, and  contribute  generously  of  their  means 
for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  parochial 
schools.20  It  was  recognized  that  it  was  scarcely 
possible,  as  yet,  to  have  a  Catholic  school  in  each 
parish.  Every  precaution  was  therefore  to  be 
taken  to  render  as  slight  as  possible  the  detriment 
to  those  Catholic  children  who  had  to  attend  the 
public  schools,  and  they  were  to  be  gathered  in 
the  church  on  Sundays  and  festivals,  and  even 
oftener,  for  catechetical  instruction.21 

INSTRUCTION    OF    THE    PROPAGANDA 

The  legislation  of  the  Second  Council  of  Cin- 
cinnati went  beyond  that  of  the  Second  Plenary 
Council,  in  obliging  pastors  to  establish  and 
maintain  parish  schools.  Many  of  the  bishops 
continued  to  urge  stricter  legislation.  The  mat- 
ter was  carried  to  the  Propaganda,  the  Roman 
Congregation  which  had  jurisdiction  in  American 
affairs,  and  in  the  year  1875,  this  Congregation 
issued  an  "Instruction  to  the  Bishops  of  the 
United  States  concerning  the  Public  Schools,"  22 
which  was  approved  and  confirmed  by  the  Pope. 
After  enumerating  the  dangers  to  the  faith  and 
morals  of  Catholic  children  from  the  public 
schools  as  actually  constituted  and  conducted,  as 
had  been  ascertained  by  the  Congregation  from 
American  bishops  themselves,  the  general  prin- 

™  Decreta,  n.  434. 

11  Ib.,  n.  435- 

22  In  Con.  Plen.  Bait.  Ill  Acta  et  Decreta,  Append.,  p.  279. 
The  extracts  here  quoted  are  from  the  translation  in  The 
Pastor,  IV,  p.  22,2  seq. 


ipo  School  Legislation 

ciple  was  laid  down  that  both  the  natural  and 
the  divine  law  forbid  the  frequentation  of  such 
schools,  unless  these  dangers  could  be  rendered 
remote.  The  obvious  remedy  for  Catholics,  both 
for  their  own  sake  and  for  that  of  the  vital  in- 
terests of  the  American  Republic,  was  to  estab- 
lish their  own  schools: 

"All  are  agreed  that  there  is  nothing  so  need- 
ful to  this  end  as  the  establishment  of  Catholic 
schools  in  every  place, — and  schools  no  whit  in- 
ferior to  the  public  ones.  Every  effort,  then, 
must  be  directed  towards  starting  Catholic 
schools  where  they  are  not,  and,  where  they  are, 
towards  enlarging  them  and  providing  them  with 
better  accommodations  and  equipment  until  they 
have  nothing  to  suffer,  as  regards  teachers  or 
furniture,  by  comparison  with  the  public  schools." 

That  Catholics  in  some  places,  however,  owing 
to  circumstances,  would  still  have  just  cause  to 
send  their  children  to  the  public  schools,  was 
clearly  recognized  and  provided  for: 

"The  Sacred  Congregation  is  not  unaware  that 
circumstances  may  be  sometimes  such  as  to  per- 
mit parents  conscientiously  to  send  their  children 
to  the  public  schools.  Of  sourse  they  cannot  do 
so  without  having  sufficient  cause.  Whether 
there  be  sufficient  cause  in  any  particular  case  is 
to  be  left  to  the  conscience  and  judgment  of  the 
bishop.  Generally  speaking,  such  cause  will  exist 
where  there  is  no  Catholic  school  in  the  place,  or 
the  one  that  is  there  cannot  be  considered  suitable 
to  the  condition  and  circumstances  in  life  of  the 
pupils." 


Third  Plenary  Council  igi 

After  emphasizing  the  responsibility  of  parents 
in  the  matter,  the  Instruction  concludes  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Parents  who  neglect  to  give  this  necessary 
Christian  training  and  instruction  to  their  chil- 
dren, or  who  permit  them  to  go  to  schools  in 
which  the  ruin  of  their  souls  is  inevitable,  or, 
finally,  who  send  them  to  the  public  school  with- 
out sufficient  cause  and  without  taking  the  neces- 
sary precautions  to  render  the  danger  of  perver- 
sion remote,  and  do  so  while  there  is  a  good  and 
well-equipped  Catholic  school  in  the  place,  or  the 
parents  have  the  means  to  send  them  elsewhere 
to  be  educated, — that  such  parents,  if  obstinate, 
cannot  be  absolved,  is  evident  from  the  moral 
teaching  of  the  Church." 

THIRD     PLENARY     COUNCIL 

The  Instruction  of  the  Propaganda  of  1875 
has  importance  not  only  as  an  authoritative  utter- 
ance sanctioned  by  the  supreme  authority  in  the 
Church,  but  also  because  it  formed  the  basis 
of  much  of  the  school  legislation  of  the  Third 
Plenary  Council,  which  convened  at  Baltimore 
in  the  Fall  of  1884.  The  Council  was  attended 
by  eleven  archbishops,  sixty  bishops,  several 
abbots,  the  superiors  of  seminaries  and  of  the 
various  religious  orders,  and  a  large  number  of 
theologians.  The  question  of  education  was  recog- 
nized as  involving  one  of  the  chief  tasks  before 
the  assembly.  This  was  shown  by  the  fact  that 
about  one-fourth  of  all  the  decrees  adopted  were 
devoted  to  the  subject  of  education.  It  was  dealt 
with  in  all  its  regular  departments — schools,  col- 


1 92  School  Legislation 

leges,  seminaries.  One  of  the  most  noteworthy 
acts  of  the  Council  was  the  establishment  of  the 
Catholic  University  at  Washington. 

Since  the  time  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council, 
the  feeling  had  been  growing  that  stricter  and 
more  explicit  school  legislation  was  needed.  The 
school  had  become  a  burning  question  among 
Catholics  long  before  the  assembling  of  the  Third 
Plenary  Council.  In  some  dioceses,  attendance 
at  parochial  schools  was  made  practically  "a  test 
of  fidelity  or  infidelity  to  God,"  and  parents  were 
excluded  from  the  sacraments  who  sent  their  chil- 
dren to  the  public  schools.  In  others,  parents 
were  left  to  do  as  they  pleased.  There  was  much 
discussion  of  the  matter  in  both  public  and  pri- 
vate; and  the  general  expectation,  coupled  with 
the  previous  Instruction  of  the  Propaganda, 
placed  upon  the  Council  the  duty  of  defining 
clearly  and  fully  the  rights  and  obligations  of 
both  pastors  and  parents  in  respect  to  the  Catho- 
lic school. 

The  Committee  on  Schools  in  the  Plenary 
Council,  consisted  of  Archbishop  Feehan,  of  Chi- 
cago, as  chairman,  with  Bishops  Spalding,  of 
Peoria,  Flasch,  of  La  Crosse,  and  Cosgrove,  of 
Davenport,  together  with  a  secretary  and  nine 
theologians.  Recalling  the  chief  points  of  the 
school  legislation  of  previous  Baltimore  Councils, 
the  Fathers  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  de- 
clared themselves  as  firmly  convinced  as  had  been 
their  predecessors,  that  religious  indifferentism 
was  the  actual  and  the  necessary  fruit  of  the 
public  schools  as  conducted.23  "To  shut  religion 

23  Decreta,  197. 


Third  Plenary  Council  193 

out  of  the  school,"  they  decla/ed,  "and  to  keep 
it  for  home  and  the  church,  is,  logically,  to  train 
up  a  generation  that  will  consider  religion  good 
for  home  and  the  church,  but  not  for  the  prac- 
tical business  of  real  life.  But  a  more  false  and 
pernicious  notion  could  not  be  imagined."  2* 
They  lay  it  down,  therefore,  as  a  general  law, 
that  parents  are  bound  to  protect  their  children 
from  the  dangers  of  this  sort  of  education,  by 
sending  them  to  Catholic  schools: 

"Therefore  we  not  only  exhort  Catholic 
parents  with  paternal  love  but  we  also  command 
them  with  all  the  authority  in  our  power,  to  pro- 
cure for  their  beloved  offspring,  given  to  them  by 
God,  re-born  in  Christ  in  baptism,  and  destined 
for  heaven,  a  truly  Christian  and  Catholic  edu- 
cation, and  to  defend  and  safeguard  them  from 
the  dangers  of  an  education  merely  secular  dur- 
ing the  entire  period  of  childhood  and  youth; 
and  therefore  to  send  them  to  parochial  schools 
or  others  truly  Catholic,  unless  perchance  the 
Ordinary,  in  a  particular  case,  should  judge  that 
it  might  be  permitted  otherwise."  25 

In  the  Instruction  of  the  Propaganda,  the  right 
of  Catholic  parents  to  send  their  children  to  the 
public  schools,  under  certain  circumstances,  was, 
as  has  been  shown,  clearly  recognized.  This 
right  was  explicitly  conceded  by  the  Fathers  of 
the  Third  Plenary  Council,  as  it  had  been  by  the 
councils  before  them,  and  they  sought  to  prevent 
interference  in  the  future  with  its  legitimate 
exercise : 

M  Pastoral  Letter,  Cone.  Plen.  Bait.  Ill,  p.  Ixxxir, 
"Decreta,  196. 


194  School  Legislation 

"Since,  therefore,  for  a  sufficient  cause,  approved 
by  the  Ordinary,  parents  may  wish  to  send 
their  children  to  the  public  schools,  providing  the 
proximate  dangers  are  removed  by  the  necessary 
cautions,  we  strictly  enjoin  that  no  one,  whether 
bishop  or  priest, — and  this  the  Pope  through  the 
Sacred  Congregation  expressly  forbids — should 
dare  to  repel  such  parents  from  the  sacraments 
as  unworthy,  either  by  threat  or  act.  And  much 
more  is  this  to  be  understood  concerning  the  chil- 
dren themselves.  Wherefore  let  pastors  of  souls, 
while  they  warn  the  faithful  committed  to  them 
of  the  dangers  of  these  schools,  take  great  care 
lest,  led  by  an  immoderate  zeal,  they  may  violate, 
by  word  or  deed,  the  most  wise  counsels  and  pre- 
cepts of  the  Holy  See."  26 

Having  thus  defined  the  respective  duties  and 
rights  of  Catholic  parents  with  reference  to  both 
the  Catholic  and  the  public  school,  the  Council 
proceeded  to  remedy  the  causes  which  were  oper- 
ating to  justify  the  attendance  of  Catholic  chil- 
dren at  the  public  schools.  The  causes  were  two 
— the  frequent  lack  of  Catholic  schools,  and,  in 
many  instances,  their  inferior  academic  standing. 
"Two  objects,"  they  declared,  "we  have  in  view, 
viz.,  to  multiply  our  schools,  and  to  perfect  them. 
We  must  multiply  them,  till  every  Catholic  child 
in  the  land  shall  have  the  means  of  education 
within  its  reach.  .  .  .  We  must  also  perfect 
our  schools.  We  repudiate  the  idea  that  the 
Catholic  school  need  be  in  any  respect  inferior 
to  any  other  school  whatsoever."  27  To  effect  the 

"Decreta,  198. 

"  Pastoral  Letter,  p.  Ixxxv. 


Third  Plenary  Council  195 

first  object,  the  multiplication  of  schools,  the  fol- 
lowing decree  was  adopted: 

"All  these  things  having  been  well  considered, 
we  decide  and  decree  that: 

"I.  Near  each  church,  where  it  does  not  yet 
exist,  a  parochial  school  is  to  be  erected  within 
two  years  from  the  promulgation  of  this  Council, 
and  is  to  be  maintained  in  perpetuum,  unless  the 
bishop,  on  account  of  grave  difficulties,  judge  that 
a  postponement  be  allowed. 

"II.  A  priest  who,  by  his  grave  negligence, 
prevents  the  erection  of  a  school  within  this  time, 
or  its  maintenance,  or  who,  after  repeated  ad- 
monitions of  the  bishop,  does  not  attend  to  the 
matter,  deserves  removal  from  that  church. 

"III.  A  mission  or  a  parish  which  so  neglects 
to  assist  a  priest  in  erecting  or  maintaining  a 
school,  that  by  reason  of  this  supine  negligence 
the  school  is  rendered  impossible,  should  be  rep- 
rehended by  the  bishop  and,  by  the  most  effica- 
cious and  prudent  means  possible,  induced  to  con- 
tribute the  necessary  support. 

"IV.  All  Catholic  parents  are  bound  to  send 
their  children  to  the  parochial  schools,  unless 
either  at  home  or  in  other  Catholic  schools  they 
may  sufficiently  and  evidently  provide  for  the 
Christian  education  of  their  children,  or  unless 
it  be  lawful  to  send  them  to  other  schools  on 
account  of  a  sufficient  cause,  approved  by  the 
bishop,  and  with  opportune  cautions  and  reme- 
dies. As  to  what  is  a  Catholic  school,  it  is  left  to 
the  judgment  of  the  Ordinary  to  define."  2S 

Touching  their  second  object,  the  perfecting  of 
the  schools,  the  Fathers  devoted  a  special  section 

28  Decreta,  n.  199. 


196  School  Legislation 

of  the  decrees  to  the  consideration  of  ways  and 
means  to  secure  the  result.  The  more  important 
of  these  will  be  referred  to  more  explicitly  in 
treating  of  the  organization  of  the  schools.  For 
the  present,  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  the  plan  of 
the  Council,  as  expressed  in  these  decrees,  com- 
prised the  following  specific  elements:  special  in- 
struction to  candidates  for  the  priesthood,  while 
in  the  seminaries,  in  the  principles  of  educational 
science,  especially  as  regards  the  teaching  of 
catechism  and  bible  history;  a  close  personal  re- 
lationship of  the  pastor  to  the  school;  the 
conversion  of  the  parish  schools  into  "free 
schools";  the  concession  of  certain  rights  and 
privileges  to  the  laity  in  respect  to  the  schools; 
the  requirement  of  a  teaching-diploma,  to  be  won 
by  examination,  for  all  diocesan  teachers,  whether 
secular  or  religious;  the  naming  of  "school  com- 
mittees" in  each  diocese,  for  the  visitation  and 
examination  of  schools;  and  the  establishment  of 
normal  schools,  strictly  so  called,  in  religious 
communities  where  such  did  not  yet  exist.  The 
hope  of  the  Council  was  that  the  parochial 
schools,  through  the  application  of  these  means, 
might  continue  to  grow  more  efficient,  and  prove 
to  be  "the  honor  and  ornament,  the  hope  and 
strength,  not  only  of  the  Church  but  also  of  the 
republic."  29 

28  Decreta,  n.  200-207. 


CHAPTER    VIII 
GROWTH  OF  SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION 

THE    PARISH 

IN  THE  organization  and  administration  of 
the  parish  school,  three  elements  of  authority 
meet  which  are,  practically  speaking  at  least, 
sharply  distinct, — the  diocese,  the  community,  and 
the  parish.  Each  has  authority  over  the  school; 
but,  following  the  law  of  the  division  of  labor, 
the  role  of  each  has  gradually  so  shaped  itself 
as  to  be  confined  chiefly  to  a  special  sphere.  The 
diocesan  authority,  in  the  first  place,  exercises  a 
general  supervision  over  all  the  schools  of  the 
diocese,  comparable  with  that  of  the  state  super- 
intendent over  the  public  schools  of  the  State; 
but  besides  this,  the  diocesan  supervision  extends 
to  individual  schools  also.  The  immediate  re- 
ligious superior,  again,  controls  the  actual  carry- 
ing on  of  the  work  of  the  school,  much  after  the 
manner  of  the  public  school  principal;  while  the 
higher  religious  superiors,  controlling,  as  they 
do,  the  teachers  as  well  as  the  teaching  in  a  large 
number  of  schools,  possess  a  practical  power  over 
the  school  which  is  comparable,  in  some  respects, 
with  that  of  the  diocesan  authority.  The  parish 
priest,  finally,  is  the  ordinary  and  immediate  rep- 


198  Growth  of  School  Organization 

resentative  of  the  diocese  in  the  management  of 
the  school.  He  is  by  right  the  school  principal, 
but  he  does  not  usually  exercise  this  right,  except 
to  a  limited  extent.  He  carefully  supervises  the 
teaching  of  Christian  Doctrine,  if  he  does  not 
teach  the  class  himself,  or  have  his  assistant  do 
so.  The  measure  of  actual  school  responsibility 
which  the  pastor  has  to  bear  is  not  small,  how- 
ever, for  upon  his  shoulders  falls  the  full  burden 
of  providing  for  the  material  and  moral  support 
of  the  school. 

This  last  responsibility  is  sufficient  of  itself  to 
exhaust  the  time  and  energy  that  the  parish 
priest  is  ordinarily  able  to  devote  to  the  school. 
Archbishop  Hughes  would  have  the  parish 
priests  "reserve  to  themselves,  as  altogether  a 
part  of  their  duty,  the  care  of  the  parish  school, 
and  not  rely  entirely  upon  the  zeal  and  devoted- 
ness  of  the  teachers,  howsoever  well  proved."  * 
Doubtless,  if  the  pastor  is  to  be  made  to  feel — as 
is  altogether  desirable — that  one  of  his  most 
important  works  is  education,  it  is  necessary  that 
he  be  closely  and  practically  interested  in  the 
school.2  But  in  a  city  parish,  with  its  large 
school,  and  its  many  other  large  and  varied 
responsibilities,  it  is  practically  impossible  for 
the  pastor  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the  active 
principalship  of  the  school.  In  smr.ller  places 
it  might,  perhaps,  be  done.  In  city  parishes,  one 
of  the  curates  is  usually  named  "principal  of  the 
school,"  but  even  then,  much  of  the  work  of  the 

1  Cone.  Prov.  Neo-Eb.  Ill,  d.  I. 

2  Rev.  F.  W.  Howard,  address  to  teachers,  Columbus,  Ohio, 
1909. 


The  Diocese  199 

school  principal  is  left  to  the  religious  superior 
to  do.  Comparatively  few  among  the  clergy  have 
had  the  advantage  of  any  professional  peda- 
gogical training.  Only  of  late  years  has  pedagogy 
begun  to  make  its  way  into  the  seminaries.  How- 
ever desirable  it  may  be,  therefore,  that  the  clergy 
should  be  brought  into  closer  practical  touch  with 
the  school,  there  has  evidently  been,  in  general, 
a  feeling  on  their  part  that,  under  existing  con- 
ditions, it  were  best  to  leave  the  burden  of  the 
active  supervision  of  the  school  to  the  religious 
superior  immediately  in  charge. 

THE    DIOCESE 
EARLY    ATTEMPTS    AT    ORGANIZATION 

Up  till  near  the  end  of  the  Immigration 
Period,  little  had  been  done  towards  the  effect- 
ive and  systematic  organization  of  Catholic 
school  work  in  the  various  dioceses.  Whatever 
of  organization  existed  was  due  to  the  relig- 
ious orders  in  charge  of  the  schools,  each  work- 
ing within  its  own  sphere.  The  first  noteworthy 
diocesan  effort  in  this  direction  was  made  by  the 
Rt.  Rev.  John  Nepomucene  Neumann,  of  Phila- 
delphia, in  the  year  1852.  A  "Central  Board  of 
Education"  was  formed,  composed  of  the  pastor 
and  two  lay  delegates  from  each  of  the  parishes 
in  the  city,  and  presided  over  by  the  bishop.  One 
of  the  chief  objects  was  to  secure  means  for  the 
opening  of  new  parochial  schools;  but  it  was  also 
planned  to  endow  the  Board  with  a  general  super- 
visory control  of  the  schools.  The  Board's  duties 
were  to  be:  "i.  General  applications  for  aid. 


aoo  Growth  of  School  Organization 

2.  Recommendation  of  a  general  plan  of  instruc- 
tion for  all  the  parochial  schools.  3.  The  distri- 
bution, under  the  direction  of  the  bishop,  of  such 
funds  as  they  may  receive.  4.  And  all  such 
other  powers  as  may  be  added  hereto  by  the 
unanimous  action  of  the  board."  3 

The  time,  however,  was  not  yet  ripe  for  the  car- 
rying out  of  the  project  in  full.  The  Know-Noth- 
ing  movement  and  the  Civil  War  checked  the 
advance  of  Catholic  education,  and  it  was  not 
until  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  attempt  of 
Bishop  Neumann  that  the  movement  towards  bet- 
ter organization  was  again  well  under  way.  On 
Feb.  9,  1879,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Dwenger, 
Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  issued  a  pas- 
toral letter,  establishing  a  system  of  diocesan 
supervision  by  which  all  the  schools  of  the  diocese 
were  brought  under  the  general  control  of  a 
school  board,  consisting  of  eleven  members  and 
a  secretary,  all  priests.  The  board  had  power  to 
prescribe  studies,  text-books,  the  qualifications  of 
teachers,  and,  in  general,  to  take  any  action  that 
was  calculated  to  make  for  the  betterment  of  the 
schools.  Teachers  were  to  be  examined  by  the 
board,  and  to  each  member  were  assigned  a  cer- 
tain number  of  schools  in  his  vicinity,  which  he 
was  to  visit  annually  and  examine.  The  board, 
in  its  First  Annual  Report,  issued  in  July  of  the 
same  year,  furnished  much  statistical  information 
about  the  condition  of  education  in  the  diocese, 
and  expressed  the  hope  of  being  able,  in  time,  to 
create  a  "diocesan  school  system."  *  The  essen- 

•  Cath.  Herald,  May,  1852. 

*  First  Annual  Report,  p.  5. 


The  Third  Plenary  Council's  Plan  201 

tial  feature  of  the  plan  was  thus,  a  central  board, 
having  authority  over  all  the  schools  of  the  dio- 
cese, with  a  divisional  responsibility  of  inspection 
and  examination. 

The  cry  for  better  organization  of  existing 
educational  agencies  was  being  heard  on  every 
side,  and  when  the  Fourth  Provincial  Council  of 
Cincinnati,  which  had  jurisdiction  over  the  Mid- 
dle Western  States,  met  in  1882,  it  adopted  the 
Fort  Wayne  plan  of  a  central  board  of  control, 
with  the  additional  provision,  however,  that,  in 
the  case  of  cities,  there  should  be  also  a  subordi- 
nate local  school  board.  The  decree  ran  as  fol- 
lows: 

"In  every  diocese,  there  shall  be  named  by  the 
Ordinary  a  committee  of  studies,  to  which,  be- 
sides others,  the  rural  deans  ex  officio  will  belong. 
This  committee  shall  have  authority  over  every- 
thing pertaining  to  Catholic  parochial  schools.  In 
cities,  moreover,  where  there  are  several  churches, 
there  shall  be  a  special  committee  of  studies, 
under  the  entire  direction  of  the  diocesan  com- 
mittee." 5 

THE     THIRD     PLENARY     COUNCIL'S     PLAN 

The  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore, 
which  met  two  years  later,  gave  careful  consider- 
ation to  the  matter  of  organization,  in  studying 
the  question  of  ways  and  means  to  promote  the 
efficiency  of  the  parish  schools.  The  need  of 
greater  unity  of  purpose  and  action  was  recog- 
nized, and  it  was  clearly  seen  that  this  could  be 

8  Acta  et  Decreta,  p.  224. 


2O2  Growth  of  School  Organization 

brought  about  only  through  a  greater  centraliza- 
tion of  the  directing  educational  agencies.  At  the 
same  time,  it  was  realized  that  the  progress  of 
the  schools  was  also  dependent  upon  the  more 
thorough  preparation  of  the  teacher.  Both  of 
these  views  were  embodied  in  the  decrees 
adopted,  which  provided  for  a  central  school 
board  in  each  diocese,  together  with  subordinate 
local  boards,  after  the  plan  of  the  Council  of 
Cincinnati.  The  chief  function  of  the  central 
board  was  to  be,  to  examine  and  watch  over  the 
qualifications  of  teachers.  It  was  prescribed  that 

"Within  a  year  from  the  promulgation  of  the 
Council,  the  bishops  shall  name  one  or  more 
priests  who  are  most  conversant  with  school 
affairs  to  constitute  a  Diocesan  Board  of  Exami- 
nation. It  shall  be  the  office  of  this  board  to 
examine  all  teachers,  whether  they  are  religious 
belonging  to  a  diocesan  congregation  or  seculars 
who  wish  to  employ  themselves  in  teaching  in  the 
parochial  schools  in  the  future,  and,  if  they  find 
them  worthy,  to  grant  them  a  testimonial  or 
diploma  of  merit.  Without  this,  no  priest  may 
lawfully  engage  any  teacher  for  his  school,  unless 
they  have  taught  before  the  celebration  of  the 
Council.  The  diploma  shall  be  valid  for  five 
years.  After  this  period,  another  and  final  ex- 
amination will  be  required  of  the  teachers. 

"Besides  this  board  for  the  examination  of 
teachers  for  the  whole  diocese,  the  bishops,  in 
accordance  with  the  diversity  of  place  and  lan- 
guage, shall  appoint  several  school  boards,  com- 
posed of  one  or  several  priests,  to  examine  the 
schools  in  cities  or  rural  districts.  The  duty  of 
these  boards  shall  be  to  visit  and  examine  each 


The  Third  Plenary  Council's  Plan  203 

school  in  their  district  once  or  even  twice  a  year, 
and  to  transmit  to  the  President  of  the  diocesan 
board,  for  the  information  and  guidance  of  the 
bishop,  an  accurate  account  of  the  state  of  the 
schools."  G 

The  laity  were  also  to  be  admitted  to  certain 
educational  rights  and  privileges,  which  were  to 
be  defined  more  precisely  by  diocesan  statutes.7 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  only  lay  teachers  and 
teachers  belonging  to  diocesan  communities  were 
bound  by  the  above  statute.  In  point  of  fact, 
very  many  of  the  teachers  belonged  to  communi- 
ties that  were  not  diocesan.  And  even  in  the 
case  of  diocesan  communities,  the  demand  for 
teachers  was  so  great  that  it  was  frequently  found 
to  be  practically  impossible  to  enforce  imme- 
diately the  high  standard  of  pedagogical  effi- 
ciency which  the  Council  had  in  mind.  The  scheme 
of  a  "Diocesan  Board  of  Examination"  did  not, 
for  these  reasons,  accomplish  as  much  directly  as 
was  expected  of  it.  But  the  central  board  found 
plenty  of  work  to  do.  The  material  equipment, 
curriculum,  text-books,  reports  of  the  examina- 
tions and  visitations  of  individual  schools, — these 
and  other  matters  offered  abundant  opportunity 
for  the  exercise  of  the  authority  of  the  board. 

The  Third  Plenary  Council,  it  is  true,  speaks 
only  of  a  central  "examination"  board,  and  the 
decree  says  nothing  of  its  exercising  any  wider 
authority.  But  this  was,  nevertheless,  con- 
templated and  expected.  The  Provincial  Coun- 
cil of  Cincinnati,  in  its  decree  on  the  same  sub- 

8  Cone.  Plen.  Bait.  Ill  Acta  et  Decreta,  n.  203,  204. 
7  Ib.,  n.  202. 


2O4  Growth  of  School  Organization 

ject  two  years  before,  had  conferred  upon  the 
central  board  "authority  over  everything  pertain- 
ing to  Catholic  parochial  schools."  The  Third 
Plenary  Council,  while  decreeing  the  institution 
of  a  central  board  in  each  diocese,  and  prescrib- 
ing its  most  important  function,  left  the  determi- 
nation of  the  amplitude  of  the  powers  of  the 
board  to  the  bishop.  The  result  was,  generally 
speaking,  as  had  been  anticipated,  that  the  full 
control  of  diocesan  educational  interests  was 
vested  by  the  bishops  in  the  central  boards. 

The  larger  and  more  fully  developed  dioceses 
took  up  at  once  the  work  of  school  organization, 
as  decreed  by  the  Plenary  Council.  Even  before 
the  Council,  a  number  of  dioceses  had  followed 
the  example  of  Fort  Wayne.  After  the  Council, 
the  board  system  became  the  accepted  norm  of 
diocesan  school  organization.  Bishop  Gilmour, 
of  Cleveland,  a  leader  of  Catholic  educational 
thought,  as  well  as  a  practical  educator,  issued, 
in  the  spring  of  1887,  a  "Constitution  and  By- 
Laws  for  the  Government  of  the  Parochial 
Schools"  of  his  diocese,  which  may  be  taken  as 
typical  of  the  efforts  made  by  the  bishops  to  give 
practical  effect  to  the  above  decree  of  the  Plenary 
Council.  By  this  "Constitution"  two  boards  were 
created,  "one  central,  embracing  the  schools  and 
general  system  of  education  throughout  the  dio- 
cese; the  other  local,  embracing,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  central  or  Diocesan  Board,  the  schools 
and  system  of  education  within  the  districts  desig- 
nated for  the  work  of  the  local  Boards."  The 
central  board  was  to  consist  of  seven  members, 
who  were  to  be  examiners  of  all  candidates  for 


The  Superintendent  System  205 

teaching,  and  also  to  act  as  inspectors  of  schools 
in  the  districts  respectively  assigned  to  them, 
being  required  to  visit  at  least  once  a  year  each 
school  within  their  districts.  Full  control  of  the 
schools,  in  all  practical  matters,  was  vested  in 
the  central  board,  under  the  authority  of  the 
bishop.  The  local  boards  were  to  consist  of 
three,  five,  or  seven  members,  to  be  selected  from 
the  priests  within  the  district  over  which  the  local 
board  presided.  The  local  boards  were  likewise  to 
visit  and  examine  each  school  within  their  dis- 
tricts at  least  once  a  year.8 

The  effect  of  the  introduction  of  this  system 
was  everywhere,  in  addition  to  the  betterment  of 
the  teaching,  which  will  be  referred  to  farther 
on,  the  awakening  of  a  fresh  interest  in  the' 
schools  and  in  everything  pertaining  to  them,  as 
well  as  a  movement  towards  greater  unification 
and  co-ordination  of  Catholic  educational  work. 

THE     SUPERINTENDENT     SYSTEM 

The  board  system  brought  a  real  center  of 
organization  into  Catholic  school  work.  Enthu- 
siasm was  quickened,  and  the  teaching  was  lifted 
up  to  a  higher  plane  of  efficiency.  Catholic  edu- 
cators eagerly  looked  forward  to  further  prog- 
ress. But  the  advance  that  had  been  made  also 
opened  up  new  problems.  The  central  board  was 
found  to  be  an  admirable  institution  for  the  set- 
tlement of  educational  questions  of  a  practical 
character,  but  these  questions  had  to  be  brought 

8  Constitution    and    By-Laws    for   the    Government   of   the 
Parochial  Schools  of  the  Diocese  of  Cleveland. 


206  Growth  of  School  Organization 

before  it.  The  members  were  not  primarily  edu- 
cators, but  pastors.  They  had  little  time  to  give 
to  the  study  of  educational  problems,  even  if 
they  had  had  the  requisite  training  for  it.  They 
visited  the  schools,  but  the  inspection  was  more 
often  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  kindly,  paternal 
interest  than  by  practical  pedagogical  insight.  It 
soon  became  evident  that  the  central  board 
needed  to  be  supplemented  by  a  man  who,  to  a 
scientific  training  in  pedagogy,  should  add  those 
qualities  of  zeal,  discretion,  and  large-minded- 
ness  which  would  fit  him  to  act  as  the  executive 
officer  of  the  board. 

The  school  board  in  New  York  was  the  first 
to  recognize  the  need,  and  in  1888  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam J.  Degnan,  D.  D.,  was  appointed  inspector 
of  schools.  The  title  was  later  :hanged  to  that 
of  superintendent.  Dr.  Degnan  resigned  after  a 
year,  on  account  of  ill  health.  The  Rev.  Michael 
J.  Considine  was  selected  to  succeed  him,  and 
continued  in  the  position  during  the  ensuing 
eleven  years.  Father  Considine  labored  success- 
fully to  raise  the  standards  of  the  schools,  and 
in  this  he  was  warmly  supported  by  the  school 
board  as  well  as  by  Archbishop  Corrigan.  Other 
dioceses  were  quick  to  notice  the  beneficial  effects 
of  the  work  of  the  superintendent  in  New  York. 
The  Rev.  Stephen  F.  Carroll  was  appointed  in- 
spector of  schools  for  the  Diocese  of  Omaha,  in 
1891,  and  the  plan  was  soon  adopted  in  other 
places.9 

In  1894,  Rev.  J.  H.  Shanahan,  subsequently 
Bishop  of  Harrisburg,  was  appointed  by  the 

'Letters;    Cath.  World,  Oct..  1911. 


The  Superintendent  System  207 

Philadelphia  school  board,  with  the  approval  of 
Archbishop  Ryan,  as  superintendent  of  schools 
for  the  archdiocese.  Father  Shanahan  was  emi- 
nently qualified  for  the  work,  and  a  brief  expe- 
rience enabled  him  to  introduce  a  very  important 
modification  into  the  system.  Perceiving  that 
recommendations  that  had  to  be  made  to  relig- 
ious orders  touching  the  teachers  would  be  more 
effective  if  made  through  the  medium  of  an  execu- 
tive of  the  same  Order,  appointed  for  this  pur- 
pose, he  was  led  to  the  institution  of  the  office  of 
community  inspector  of  schools.  The  commu- 
nity inspector  was  given  supervisory  authority 
over  all  the  schools  of  the  Order  in  the  diocese, 
with  no  other  duties.  At  stated  times,  these  in- 
spectors were  called  together  by  the  diocesan 
superintendent,  who  made  known  to  them,  col- 
lectively or  singly,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
matter,  the  impressions  and  suggestions  gathered 
during  his  annual  visitation  of  the  diocese  regard- 
ing the  condition  of  the  schools.  These  meet- 
ings also  afforded  opportunity  for  the  discussion 
of  current  educational  topics  and  problems.  As 
thus  developed,  the  system  comprised  a  central 
board  of  control;  the  superintendent  of  instruc- 
tion, as  the  board's  executive  officer;  and  a 
board  of  assistants  to  the  superintendent,  made 
up  of  representatives  of  the  various  teaching 
orders,  each  being  over  the  schools  of  his  or  her 
own  Order.10 

Under  the  able  and  energetic  direction  of  the 
successor  of  Bishop  Shanahan  in  Philadelphia,  the 

10  For  the  functions  of  the  community  inspector,  see  paper  of 
Bro.  Anthony,  in  Rep.  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  1907. 


2o8  Growth  of  School  Organization 

Rt.  Rev.  Philip  R.  McDevitt,  who  became  super- 
intendent in  1899,  the  system  reached  a  degree  of 
practical  perfection  which  drew  general  attention 
to  it.  The  following  regulations,  adopted  by  the 
Pittsburg  Diocese,  show  the  practical  relations 
of  school  board,  superintendent,  and  community 
inspectors  under  the  Philadelphia  system: 


"Each  teaching  community  in  the  diocese  shall 
have  a  Community  Supervisor  of  Schools,  who 
shall  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Diocesan 
Superintendent  of  Parish  Schools;  the  Super- 
visors for  Communities  having  charge  of  five  or 
more  schools  to  be  free  from  all  other  assign- 
ments to  duty. 

"The  duties  and  powers  of  the  Diocesan 
Superintendent  of  Parish  Schools  shall  be  as  fol- 
lows: 

"i.  The  Superintendent,  being  the  Executive 
Officer  of  the  School  Board,  shall  act  under  the 
advice  and  direction  of  the  Diocesan  Board.  He 
shall  have  the  general  supervision  of  the  parish 
schools. 

"2.  He  shall  observe  the  work  and  discipline 
of  the  teachers  employed  in  the  schools,  and  shall 
report  to  the  Pastor  and  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee of  the  School  Board  when  he  shall  find  any 
teacher  deficient  or  incompetent  in  the  discharge 
of  any  school  duties,  or  who  is  not  provided  with 
a  Diocesan  Certificate. 

"3.  The  Superintendent  shall  attend  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Diocesan 
School  Board,  and  shall  submit  to  the  Executive 
Committee  and  the  Board  such  matters  as  he 
may  deem  important.  After  the  close  of  the 


The  Superintendent  System  209 

school  year  he  shall  prepare,  as  soon  as  possible, 
an  annual  detailed  report  for  publication. 

"4.  He  shall  pay  special  attention  to  the  grad- 
ing of  the  schools,  and  shall  see  that  the  text- 
books adopted  by  the  Diocesan  School  Board  are 
used. 

"5.  As  Executive  Officer  of  the  Board,  he 
shall  be  accountable  for  the  general  good  condi- 
tion of  the  parish  schools,  and  shall  in  every  way 
practicable  advise  and  stimulate  the  teachers  in 
the  performance  of  their  duties. 

"6.  He  shall  have  power  to  call  meetings  of 
the  Community  Supervisors,  of  the  Acting  Prin- 
cipals, and  of  the  teachers,  for  lectures  and  in- 
structions on  school  work. 

"7.  He  shall  have  power  to  ask  at  any  time 
for  specimens  of  the  pupils'  work  in  any  of  the 
grades,  and  may  ask  the  teachers  for  their  meth- 
ods of  presenting  the  subject-matter  proper  to 
the  grade.  He  shall  also  be  privileged  to  sug- 
gest better  methods  than  those  in  use  whenever 
in  his  judgment  an  improvement  can  be  made." 

The  Philadelphia  system  has  been  gradually 
extended  to  other  dioceses.  At  present,  sixteen 
have  adopted  it,  and  it  is,  in  all  probability,  des- 
tined to  become  the  norm  of  diocesan  educa- 
tional government.  Thirty-seven  dioceses  have 
the  simple  School  Board  system,  and  thirty-six 
are  still  without  any  formal  diocesan  educational 
organization.11  Most  of  the  latter,  however,  are 
either  newly  formed  or  are  educationally  weak. 
The  membership  of  the  diocesan  school  boards 
varies  from  two  to  eighteen.  In  most  cases, 
under  the  School  Board  system,  the  members  visit 
11  Cath.  Directory,  1910. 


210  Growth  of  School  Organization 

and  examine  the  schools  themselves.  But  many 
dioceses  have,  in  addition  to  the  central  board, 
district  boards,  as  recommended  by  the  Third 
Plenary  Council;  while  several  have  also  a 
special  board  for  the  examination  of  teachers.12 

THE  TEACHING  COMMUNITY 
CHARACTER  OF  THE  TEACHING  COMMUNITY 

THE  third  element  of  organization  in  the 
Catholic  school  system  is,  as  has  been  said,  the 
religious  community.  The  religious  community 
is  not,  primarily,  a  teaching  body.  Its  principal 
end  is  the  spiritual  advancement  and  advantage 
of  its  members.  But  inasmuch  as  this  purpose  is, 
in  the  case  of  teaching  communities,  linked  to 
the  office  of  teaching,  the  community  may  be 
rightly  regarded,  practically  speaking,  as  an 
organization  of  teachers.  It  is  only  as  such,  at 
any  rate,  that  it  will  call  for  consideration  here.13 
As  a  religious  order,  with  its  rules,  constitutions, 
and  traditions,  the  ideal  of  the  community  is  to 
avoid  change;  as  a  teaching  organization,  its 
ideal  must  be  that  of  continual  progress,  through 
better  equipment,  better  methods  of  instruction, 
and  the  more  thorough  preparation  of  teachers. 
This  distinction  lies  at  the  base  of  the  legislation 
of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  for  the  betterment 
of  the  teaching  in  Catholic  schools. 

The  statute  concerning  the  examination  of 
teachers,  it  will  be  remembered,  affected  only 

12Cath.  Directory,  1910. 

13  Cf.  Amer.  Eccl.  Rev.,  XLI,  pp.  31,  235,  483,  for  a  discus- 
sion of  the  question  as  to  whether  and  how  far  the  com- 
munity may  be  regarded  in  this  light. 


The  Third  Plenary  Council  on  Normal  Schools  211 

diocesan  communities.  Under  the  Philadelphia 
plan,  all  communities,  those  whose  rules  have  the 
approval  of  Rome  as  well  as  those  which  are 
diocesan,  are  brought  within  the  system  of  a  cen- 
tralized diocesan  control  through  the  community 
inspectorship.  Where  this  system  does  not 
obtain,  the  non-diocesan  communities  are  less 
directly  under  diocesan  control.  The  bishop 
may,  according  to  the  Third  Plenary  Council, 
make  suggestions  and  enter  into  agreements  with 
the  superiors  of  these  Orders  about  the  teaching 
or  the  teachers,  but  the  ultimate  control  over 
them  lies,  not  with  the  bishop,  but  with  the  Con- 
gregation of  Religious  in  Rome.14 

THE  THIRD   PLENARY   COUNCIL   ON   NORMAL 
SCHOOLS 

The  Third  Plenary  Council  probably  went  as 
far  as  it  could  well  go  in  the  direction  of  central- 
izing the  control  of  Catholic  education  for  each 
diocese.  A  work  of  not  less  importance  or 
fruitfulness  was  its  legislation  on  normal  schools. 
Every  novitiate  of  a  teaching  order  is,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  a  normal  school.15  Previous  to  the 
Council,  however,  the  normal  course  was  charac- 
terized by  two  defects  which  reacted  fatally,  in 
many  instances,  against  the  efficiency  of  the 
Catholic  teacher,  as  compared  with  the  teacher 
in  the  public  schools:  the  course  was  too  brief, 
and  it  was  lacking  on  the  side  of  scientific  peda- 
gogical instruction  and  training. 

"Cone.  Bait.  Plcn.  Ill,  n.  203. 

15  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  201. 


212  Growth  of  School  Organization 

The  novitiate  usually  lasted  only  a  year. 
Much  of  the  time  during  this  year  was,  of 
course,  given  up  to  religious  exercises.  Previous 
to  the  novitiate,  the  young  candidates,  according 
to  the  rules  of  the  various  religious  institutes, 
were  to  be  given  several  years — two,  at  least — 
of  instruction  and  training  for  their  work.  But 
the  demand  for  teachers  too  often  led  the  supe- 
riors to  yield  to  the  temptation  of  cutting  down 
this  precious  time  of  preparation  by  a  year  or 
more,  unless  prevented  by  the  candidate's  age. 
In  this  way,  young  girls  were  often  clothed  with 
the  religious  habit,  and  sent  out  to  teach  in 
parish  schools  whose  upper  scholars  were  fully 
their  equals  in  knowledge  if  not  in  age.  Care 
was  taken,  naturally,  to  place  such  immature 
teachers  where  their  lack  of  knowledge  and  train- 
ing would  be  least  liable  to  be  noticed  or  to  work 
ill.  But  the  schools  suffered,  and  it  was  but 
rarely  that  opportunity  was  given  afterwards  to 
make  up  for  the  years  of  study  and  training  that 
had  been  missed. 

Again,  the  science  of  pedagogy  had  gained  but 
a  slight  foothold  in  the  curriculum  of  the  train- 
ing-schools of  the  communities,  previous  to  the 
Council.  Their  plan  of  study  comprehended  the 
thorough  going  over  again  of  the  courses  that 
had  been  already  made  in  school,  but  there  was 
little  besides.  The  old  idea,  that  any  one  could 
teach  well  any  subject  that  he  had  thoroughly 
mastered  himself,  still  obtained  very  widely. 
Catholic  training-schools  were  notably  behind  the 
public  normal  schools  in  this  respect. 

The  legislation  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council 


The  Third  Plenary  Council  on  Normal  Schools  213 

on  the  subject  was  as  concise  as  it  was  clear  and 
decisive.  Normal  schools  were  to  be  erected,  the 
authority  of  Rome  even  being  invoked  to  this 
end,  should  it  be  necessary  in  any  particular  case. 
The  curriculum  was  to  be  made  to  embrace  both 
the  branches  that  the  candidate  would  have  to 
teach  later  on  in  the  parish  schools,  and  the 
science  and  art  of  pedagogy.  And  sufficient  time 
was  to  be  allowed  for  the  completion  of  the 
course. 

"In  order  that,"  the  decree  runs,  "there  may 
be  always  ready  a  sufficient  number  of  Catholic 
teachers,  each  thoroughly  equipped  for  the  holy 
and  sublime  work  of  the  education  of  youth,  we 
would  have  the  bishops  concerned  to  confer  with 
the  superiors  of  congregations  dedicated  to  the 
work  of  teaching  in  the  schools,  either  directly  on 
their  own  authority  or,  if  need  be,  invoking  the 
authority  of  the  Sacred  Congregation,  for  the 
establishment  of  normal  schools  where  they  do 
not  yet  exist  and  there  is  need  for  them.  These 
are  to  be  in  suitable  establishments,  in  which  the 
young  may  be  trained  by  skillful  and  capable 
teachers,  during  a  sufficient  period  of  time  and 
with  a  truly  religious  diligence,  in  the  various 
studies  and  sciences,  in  method  and  pedagogy, 
and  other  branches  pertaining  to  a  sound  train- 
ing for  teaching."  16 

The  authority  of  the  Council  was  sufficient  to 
induce  an  almost  immediate  reform  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  training-schools.  The  religious 
superiors  had  always  favored  a  full  course,  and 
they  had  yielded  only  against  their  will  to  the 
16  Acta  et  Decreta,  n.  205. 


214  Growth  of  School  Organization 

expedient  of  shortening  or  omitting  altogether 
the  postulate,  or  pre-novitiate  part.  The  stronger 
and  more  progressive  communities  eliminated  the 
abuse  at  once,  and  held  all  candidates  to  the  com- 
pletion of  a  three  years'  normal  course — two 
years  in  the  postulate  and  one  in  the  novitiate. 
The  smaller  and  weaker  communities  had  to 
struggle  hard  before  being  able  to  enforce  this 
reform.  In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  decree  of  the  Council  has  had  the  desired 
effect,  so  far  as  regards  the  establishment  of  nor- 
mal schools  by  the  communities,  and  the  length 
of  their  curricula.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that 
the  mind  of  the  Council  respecting  the  study  of 
pedagogy  has  not  been  carried  out  to  the  same 
extent.  The  curricula  of  the  normal  schools  of 
the  larger  and  more  flourishing  communities 
leave  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  would,  undoubt- 
edly, compare  favorably  with  the  curricula  of 
the  best  public  normal  schools.  But  many  com- 
munities have  continued  to  make  the  work  of 
their  normal  schools  consist  too  exclusively  of  the 
study  of  the  branches  to  be  taught  in  the  schools. 
There  is  much  to  be  done  still,  in  the  case  of 
many,  before  the  decree  of  the  Council  in  respect 
to  the  study  of  the  science  and  art  of  teaching  in 
the  normal  schools  can  be  said  to  be  effectively 
carried  out.17 

Much  of  the  credit  for  the  legislation  of  the 
Council  on  education  is  due  to  the  Rt.  Rev.  John 
Lancaster  Spalding,  Bishop  of  Peoria.  His  in- 
fluence, in  the  matter  of  parish  school  education, 

17  Cf.  Educational  Briefs,  "The  Training  of  the  Teacher,"  by 
the  author,  p.  26. 


Summer  Institutes  215 

was  directed  chiefly  towards  the  perfecting  of 
the  training  of  the  teacher.  Both  within  and 
without  the  Council,  he  labored  unceasingly  to 
impress  upon  all  his  own  lofty  ideals  in  this  re- 
spect. In  a  notable  article  on  "Normal  Schools," 
in  the  Catholic  World,  April,  1890,  he  broached 
the  project  of  a  "central  normal  school,  a  sort 
of  educational  university,"  to  be  established  for 
the  higher  training  of  teachers,  somewhat  after 
the  pattern  of  Teachers'  College,  at  Columbia 
University.18 

SUMMER     INSTITUTES 

The  legislation  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council 
has  had  much  to  do  with  the  development  of  a 
feature  of  normal  school  work  which  has  been 
of  very  great  importance.  Practically  all  the 
teaching  orders  now  have  summer  schools  or  in- 
stitutes. The  course  is  from  four  to  six  weeks  in 
length,  and  from  two  to  four  hours  a  day.  The 
work  covers  the  ground  of  the  curriculum  of  the 
average  normal  school,  there  being  regular  class- 
work  in  the  school  branches,  and,  in  addition, 
general  lectures  in  courses  of  pedagogy.  These 
summer  schools  are  held  at  the  mother-houses 
of  the  Orders,  and  noted  teachers  and  lecturers 
are  brought  from  without,  and  often  from  a  dis- 
tance. In  some  dioceses  also  a  summer  institute 
is  held,  at  which  all  the  religious  and  lay  teachers 
in  the  diocese  are  gathered  for  a  week  or  two, 
or  even  more.  The  program  of  these  diocesan 

18  The  year  1911  witnessed  the  foundation  of  such  a  higher 
normal  school  for  Sisters  at  the  Catholic  University  at  Wash- 
ington. 


216  Growth  oj  School  Organization 

Institutes  is  much  like  that  of  the  ordinary  public 
school  teachers'  institute.  The  community  sum- 
mer schools,  on  the  other  hand,  with  their  reg- 
ular class-work  and  prolonged  curriculum,  are 
able  to  cover,  in  quite  a  satisfactory  way,  the 
ground  of  the  regular  normal  course.  Many  com- 
munities have  endeavored  to  make  up  in  this  way 
for  the  shortcomings  of  their  normal  school  work 
in  the  past. 

NUMBER    AND    DISTRIBUTION    OF    TEACHERS 

With  an  enrollment  of  1,237,251  pupils  in  the 
parish  schools  of  the  United  States  in  1910,  the 
number  of  teachers  may  be  estimated  at  about 
31,000,  on  the  basis  of  an  average  of  forty  pupils 
to  a  teacher.  About  nine-tenths  of  the  teachers 
are  religious.  Male  teachers  are  probably  less 
than  one-fifteenth  of  the  total  number. 

There  are  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  dis- 
tinct teaching  communities,  including  single  inde- 
pendent houses  as  well  as  congregations.  The 
teaching  brotherhoods  number  eleven.  Many  of 
these  teaching  communities  have  a  common 
origin,  as  has  been  shown,  in  the  little  colonies 
of  religious  that  came  across  the  seas  during  the 
Immigration  Period.19  At  present,  only  forty- 
nine  of  the  teaching  communities  are  connected 
with  mother-houses  outside  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  these  eighteen  appertain  to  Canada. 

18  See  chapters  on  Teaching  Communities. 


CHAPTER    IX 

CATHOLIC   SCHOOLS  AND   THE  STATE— DISCUS- 
SION OF  PRINCIPLES 

THE     QUESTION 

THE  question  of  the  relation  of  the  Catholic 
school  to  the  state  is  bound  up  with  the  larger 
question  of  the  function  of  education  in  general, 
and  this  again  involves  a  consideration  of  the 
respective  relations  which  the  child  bears  to  the 
church,  to  the  family,  and  to  the  state.  The 
treatment  of  the  question  proposed  will,  how- 
ever, be  confined  within  a  limited  range,  since  it 
is  the  purpose  to  present  only  its  historical  side, 
in  showing  the  influence  which  the  discussion  of 
it  has  had  upon  the  development  of  the  Catholic 
school  system. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  of  the  lack 
of  the  relation  that  ought  to  exist  between  the 
Catholic  school  and  the  state,  rather  than  of  the 
existence  of  any  undue  relation,  that  Catholics 
have  had  to  complain.  The  acknowledgment 
made  by  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 
more, that  "the  General  and  State  Governments 
of  our  country,  except  in  some  brief  intervals  of 
excitement  and  delusion,  have  not  interfered 
with  our  ecclesiastical  organization  or  civil 

217 


218  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

rights,"  *  holds  good  also  as  regards  the  attitude 
of  the  state  towards  Catholic  schools.  Attempts 
have  been  made,  it  is  true,  at  various  times  and 
in  various  States  of  the  Union,  to  interfere  with 
the  liberty  of  the  schools.  Even  aside  from  the 
acts  of  violence  and  manifest  illegality  which 
characterized  the  Native-American  and  Know- 
Nothing  movements,  deliberate  and  carefully 
planned  attacks  upon  the  liberty  of  teaching, 
under  a  semblance  of  legality,  have  not  been 
wanting.  Efforts  were  made  in  1888  to  have  the 
legislature  of  Massachusetts  pass  a  law  granting 
an  absolute  right  of  inspection  and  supervision  of 
private  schools  to  the  local  school  boards,  and 
proscribing  all  schools  not  approved  by  the  board, 
or  those  in  which  the  English  language  was  not 
used  exclusively.  Text-books,  curriculum,  etc., 
were  likewise  to  be  passed  upon  by  the  same 
authority.2  The  Wisconsin  Bennett  Law,  framed 
the  following  year,  was  along  the  same  general 
lines,  but  did  not  go  so  far.3  California  enacted 
a  law  in  1874  which  made  it  a  penal  offense  for  a 
parent  or  guardian  to  send  a  child  to  a  private 
school,  without  having  first  obtained  the  permis- 
sion of  the  public  board  of  education  to  do  so.4 
The  same  idea  was  involved,  to  some  extent,  in 
the  compulsory  education  laws  of  certain  States.5 

1  Pastoral  Letter,  p.  cix. 

2  Amer.  Cath.  Q.  Rev.,  XIII,  545. 

3  Cf .  Rep.  Coinm.  of  Ed.,  1894-5,  P-   1647;    Ed.  Rev.,  I,  p. 
48  seq. 

4  Montgomery,   the   School   Question    from  a   Parental   and 
Non-Sectarian  Standpoint,  p.  19. 

B  For  the  history  of  compulsory  ed.  laws  in  the  U.  S.,  cf. 
Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed.  for  1888-9,  P-  4/o  seq. ;  also,  Report  to 
National  Ed.  Assn.  for  1891,  p.  403  seq. 


Divergence  of  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  Views      219 

According  to  the  Compulsory  Education  Law 
of  Ohio,  for  instance,  which  was  sustained  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  in  a  decision  ren- 
dered in  1892,  a  Catholic  school  principal  was 
obliged  to  furnish  the  names,  ages,  and  resi- 
dences of  his  school  children  to  the  public  board 
of  education."  New  York  appears  to  have  set 
its  face  strongly  against  the  view  that  private 
schools  are  things  with  which  the  State  has  noth- 
ing to  do,  and  its  Board  of  Regents  exercises  a 
limited  supervision  over  private  educational  insti- 
tutions of  every  class  and  grade.  Other  States, 
too,  are  following  in  the  wake  of  New  York. 
Still,  the  main  principle  involved  in  liberty  of 
teaching  has  remained,  both  in  New  York  and 
elsewhere,  untouched. 

DIVERGENCE    OF    CATHOLIC    AND    NON-CATHOLIC 
VIEWS 

It  has  been  clearly  perceived  all  along,  by 
Catholics  at  least,  that  the  principles  at  stake  in 
this  matter  of  liberty  of  teaching  involve  ulti- 
mately the  continuance  or  the  discontinuance  of 
the  Catholic  system  of  schools.  Up  to  about  the 
year  1840,  Catholics  and  non-Catholics  were  in 
agreement  in  regarding  the  parent  as  the  prin- 
ciple of  responsibility  in  respect  to  the  education 
of  the  child.  This  view  sprang  primarily  from 
the  Christian  faith,  and  was  quite  in  accord,  too, 

s  This  case  attracted  wide  attention.  For  the  learned  argu- 
ment of  Judge  Edmund  F.  Dunne  against  compulsory  educa- 
tion, before  the  three  courts  which  passed  upon  the  case,  cf. 
Compulsory  Education  :  The  State  of  Ohio  vs.  The  Rev.  Pat- 
rick Francis  Quigley,  D.D. 


Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

with  the  democratic  spirit  and  institutions  of  the 
land.  But  with  the  educational  movement  which 
is  generally  associated  with  the  name  of  Horace 
Mann,  there  gradually  came  about  a  change. 
The  leaders  in  the  "Great  Awakening"  had  made 
a  careful  study  of  certain  of  the  educational  sys- 
tems of  Europe,  and  they  came  back  full  of  ad- 
miration for  these,  and  especially  for  the  school- 
system  of  Prussia.  The  germ  of  a  new  doctrine 
about  the  relation  of  the  child  to  the  state,  as 
Cardinal  Manning  has  observed,7  was  embodied 
in  the  educational  ideas  which  were  imported  at 
this  time  from  the  Old  World. 

The  germ  required  some  time  for  its  full  de- 
velopment. It  was,  at  any  rate,  only  after  the 
disappearance  of  religious  teaching  and  the  relig- 
ious atmosphere  from  the  public  schools  that  it 
came  to  be  quietly  accepted  by  the  many  that, 
since  the  work  of  the  school  was  entirely  secular 
and  aimed  to  fit  for  citizenship  and  no  more, 
responsibility  for  the  education  of  the  child  per- 
tained primarily  to  the  state,  rather  than  the 
parent.  As  a  corollary  of  this  conclusion,  Catho- 
lic schools,  even  though  they  fulfilled  the  same 
function  as  the  public  schools,  came  to  be  re- 
garded as  in  the  position  of  a  private  enterprise, 
inasmuch  as  the  state  had  not  founded  them  and 
had  not  chosen  to  make  them  its  own.  This  new 
view  of  the  relation  of  the  school  and  conse- 
quently of  the  child  to  the  state,  which  has  now 
become  a  fixed  attitude  of  the  non-Catholic  mind, 
may  be  expressed  here  in  the  words  of  one  who 

7Cf.  The  Bible  in  the  Public  Schools,  The  Forum,  Mar., 
1889,  p.  57- 


Divergence  of  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  Views     221 

was  by  no  means  an  extremist  in  the  advocacy  of 
the  claims  of  the  state : 

"While  the  state  is  warranted  in  making  pro- 
vision for  the  elementary  education  of  all  classes, 
rich  and  poor  alike,  it  would  be  unjust  and  tyran- 
nical to  force  any  particular  portion  of  the  com- 
munity to  avail  themselves  of  this  provision  when 
they  prefer  other  methods  of  unobjectionable  in- 
struction. If  persons  choose  to  send  their  chil- 
dren to  private  or  parochial  schools,  without 
seeking  to  evade  their  share  of  the  burden  inci- 
dent to  the  governmental  system  of  universal 
instruction,  their  right  to  enjoy  this  luxury  is 
beyond  dispute.  If  the  burden  thus  imposed  is 
heavy,  and  to  some  may  appear  unjust,  the  reply 
is  that  no  system,  designed  to  promote  the  gen- 
eral good,  can  be  so  happily  devised  as  to  work 
with  absolute  equality  and  to  avoid  the  necessity 
for  some  concession  and  compromise.  It  is  no 
doubt  a  hardship  that  those  who  never  patronize 
our  public  schools  should  be  taxed,  equally  with 
those  who  do,  for  their  support.  A  proper  esti- 
mate, however,  of  the  value  of  these  schools  as 
related  to  our  national  welfare,  will  make  the 
yoke  of  this  hardship  light  and  easy  to  bear."  8 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  each  of  the  three 
Plenary  Councils  of  Baltimore  was  followed  by 
a  period  of  active  discussion  of  the  "school  ques- 
tion," not  only  by  Catholics,  but  by  non-Catholics 
as  well.  There  was,  doubtless,  something  of 
mere  coincidence  in  this.  The  First  Council  was 

8  Rev.  J.  R.  Kendrick,  in  Forum,  Sept.,  1889,  p.  75.  For  a 
discussion  of  certain  socialistic  tendencies  in  the  public  schools, 
which  have  sprung  from  this  anti-parental  attitude,  cf.  Coler, 
Socialism  in  the  Schools  (IQII)  ;  also,  The  Cath.  Ed.  Review, 
Vol.  I,  p.  353. 


222  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

held  during  the  Know-Nothing  movement,  which 
was  largely  directed  against  Catholic  schools. 
The  Second  was  followed  by  a  period  of  contro- 
versy respecting  the  Bible  in  the  schools.  In  the 
years  1869-70,  the  press  of  the  land,  secular  and 
religious,  teemed  with  discussions  of  the  "school 
question,"  the  burning  topic  being  the  exclusion 
of  the  Bible  from  the  schools.  But  the  Council 
of  1866  was  not  responsible  for  this  discussion. 
The  exclusion  of  the  Bible  came  as  the  climax 
of  a  movement  that  had  long  been  in  progress. 
The  action  of  the  board  of  education  in  Cincin- 
nati in  ejecting  the  Bible  from  the  schools  was 
followed  by  other  school-boards,  and  the  action 
was  sustained  by  court  decisions  in  various  parts 
of  the  country.  The  Third  Plenary  Council, 
however,  which  met  in  1884,  enacted  legisla- 
tion which  undoubtedly  gave  rise  to  much  of  the 
educational  discussion  that  held  the  public  atten- 
tion during  succeeding  years. 

CATHOLIC   VIEW THE   CHURCH'S   RIGHT 

In  opposition  to  the  view  that  responsibility 
for  the  education  of  the  child  pertains  primarily 
to  the  state,  the  teaching  of  Catholics  has  been 
that  the  right  and  duty  of  educating  belongs  pri- 
marily to  the  parent;  and,  since  education  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word  is  essentially  a  spiritual 
function,  the  control  of  the  education  of  her  own 
children  rests  ultimately  with  the  Church.  This 
does  not  mean  that  the  state  has  not  the  right  to 
establish  schools.  But  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  establishing  schools  and  educating,  be- 


Catholic  View — The  Church's  Right  223 

tween  erecting  buildings,  paying  salaries  and 
even  compelling  children  to  attend  school,  and 
the  actual  work  of  education.  This  distinction  lies 
at  the  root  of  the  Catholic  view  concerning  the 
respective  rights  of  church,  parent,  and  state  in 
regard  to  the  education  of  the  child.  The  distinc- 
tion has  been  clearly  drawn  by  Dr.  Brownson,  one 
of  the  profoundest  minds,  perhaps,  that  America 
has  produced: 

"We  deny,  of  course,  as  Catholics,  the  right 
of  the  civil  government  to  educate,  for  education 
is  a  function  of  the  spiritual  society,  as  much  so 
as  preaching  and  the  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments; but  we  do  not  deny  to  the  state  the  right 
to  establish  and  maintain  public  schools.  The 
state,  if  it  chooses,  may  even  endow  religion  or 
pay  the  ministers  of  religion  a  salary  for  their 
support;  but  its  endowments  of  religion,  when 
made,  are  made  to  God,  are  sacred  and  under 
the  sole  control  and  management  of  the  spiritual 
authority,  and  the  state  has  no  further  function 
in  regard  to  them  but  to  protect  the  spirituality 
in  the  free  and  full  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
them.  We  do  not  deny  the  same  or  an  equal 
right  in  regard  to  schools  and  school-teachers. 
It  may  found  and  endow  schools  and  pay  the 
teachers,  but  it  cannot  dictate  or  interfere  with 
the  education  or  discipline  of  the  school.  That 
would  imply  a  union  of  church  and  state,  or, 
rather,  the  subjection  of  the  spiritual  order  to  the 
secular,  which  the  Catholic  Church  and  the 
American  system  of  government  both  alike  re- 
pudiate. 

"All  education,  as  all  life,  should  be  religious, 
and  all   education  divorced   from   religion   is   an 


224  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

evil,  not  a  good,  and  is  sure  in  the  long  run  to  be 
ruinous  to  the  secular  order;  but  as  a  part  of 
religious  education,  and  included  in  it,  secular 
education  has  its  place  and  even  its  necessity. 
.  .  .  We  deny  the  competency  of  the  state  to 
educate  even  for  its  own  order,  its  right  to  estab- 
lish purely  secular  schools,  from  which  all  re- 
ligion is  excluded,  as  Mr.  Webster  ably  contended 
in  his  argument  in  the  Girard  will  case;  but  we 
do  not  deny,  we  assert  rather,  its  right  to  estab- 
lish public  schools  under  the  internal  control  and 
management  of  the  spiritual  society,  and  to  exact 
that  a  certain  amount  of  secular  instruction  be 
given  along  with  the  religious  education  that 
society  gives." 

THE    PARENT'S    RIGHT 

Education,  being  thus  essentially  a  function  of 
the  spiritual  society,  its  direction  and  control 
must  rest  ultimately  with  that  society.  The 
parent,  however,  is  charged  by  natural  and  divine 
law  with  responsibility  for  the  \vell-being  of  his 
child,  in  temporal  things,  and  also  in  spiritual 
things.  Upon  the  parent,  therefore,  devolves 
the  right  and  the  duty  of  educating.  His  respon- 
sibility is  prior  to  that  of  the  state,  \vhose 
province  it  is  simply  to  encourage  and  aid  edu- 
cation— leaving  out  of  consideration  for  the 
moment  the  rights  that  may  devolve  on  the  state 
when  there  is  default  of  the  parent's  duty.  In 
the  order  of  nature,  the  parent's  responsibility 
is  prior  also  to  that  of  the  spiritual  society.  In 

*  Orestes  A.  Brownson,  in  Brownson's  Views,  p.  64  seq.  Cf. 
also  the  argument  of  Judge  Dunne  before  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Ohio,  referred  to  supra,  p.  219. 


The  Parent's  Right  225 

the  supernatural  order,  the  Church  has,  of  course, 
supreme  authority  to  teach  directly  religious  and 
moral  truth.  Both  children  and  parents  are  sub- 
ject to  this  authority.  But,  practically  speaking, 
a  certain  priority  of  responsibility  devolves  upon 
the  parent  even  here,  such  as  is  clearly  implied 
in  the  following  words,  addressed  to  parents  by 
the  First  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore: 

"To  you,  Christian  parents,  God  has  com- 
mitted these  His  children,  whom  He  permits  you 
to  regard  as  yours;  and  your  natural  affection 
towards  whom  must  ever  be  subordinated  to  the 
will  of  Him  'from  whom  all  paternity  in  heaven 
and  on  earth  is  named.'  Remember  that  if  for 
them  you  are  the  representatives  of  God,  the 
source  of  their  existence,  you  are  to  be  for  them 
depositories  of  His  authority,  teachers  of  His 
law,  and  models  by  imitating  which  they  may  be 
perfect,  even  as  their  Father  in  heaven  is  per- 
fect. You  are  to  watch  over  the  purity  of  their 
faith  and  morals  with  jealous  vigilance,  and  to 
instil  into  their  young  hearts  principles  of  virtue 
and  perfection."  10 

The  priority  of  the  parent's  responsibility  to 
that  of  the  state  was  set  forth  by  Cardinal  Man- 
ning in  an  article  which  was  written  for  an 
American  magazine  in  1889.  Regarding  the 
parental  right  in  education,  he  maintained  that — 

"By  the  law  of  nature,  fathers  and  mothers 
have  by  right  the  guardianship  of  their  own  chil- 

10  Pastoral    Letter   of   the    First    National    Council    of   the 
U.  S.,  p.  io; 


226  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

dren.  Parents  have  the  right  to  control  the  edu- 
cation of  their  children.  They  are  bound  to 
select  such  schools  and  instructors  as  they  believe 
to  be  safest  and  best  for  their  children.  They 
are  bound  also  in  duty  to  watch  over  the  associa- 
tions of  their  children,  and  to  control  them  with 
entire  independence." 

And  he  held  that  parents  have  this  priority  of 
obligation  and  authority,  because — 

''The  society  of  mankind  springs  from  the 
unity,  authority,  and  obedience  of  homes,  and  is 
perpetuated  by  the  parental  care  and  by  the 
domestic  life  of  the  people.  Filial  duty  is  the 
root  of  civil  obedience.  Home  is  the  school 
divinely  founded  for  the  first  and  deepest  forma- 
tion of  men.  The  natural  society  of  mankind  is 
ordered  and  perpetuated  by  a  natural  faith  in 
God,  and  by  a  natural  law  of  manifold  and  divine 
obligations."  lx 


RIGHT     OF     THE     STATE 

But  what  of  the  right  of  the  state?  What  is 
the  foundation  of  its  right  to  teach,  and  what  are 
the  limitations  of  this  right?  Three  limitations 
are  placed  by  Cardinal  Manning  upon  the  liberty 
of  the  state  in  matters  of  education:  the  rights 
of  parents,  the  rights  of  children,  and  the  duty 

11  The  Forum,  Mar.,  1889,  pp.  52,  56.  This  article,  under  the 
heading,  "A  Word  from  America  to  the  Board  Schools  of 
England,"  was  included  in  the  little  volume  published  by  Car- 
dinal Manning  in  1889,  entitled  National  Education.  Cf.  also 
the  argument  of  Judge  Dunne,  referred  to  supra. 


Right  of  the  State  227 

so  to  provide  for  the  instruction  of  the  people 
in  secular  matters  as  not  to  interfere  with  the 
religious  education  of  children,12 — all  of  which 
follow  from  the  principles  enunciated  above  as 
to  the  rights  of  the  Church  and  of  the  parent 
respectively  in  education.  The  right  of  the  state 
to  educate  is  based,  according  to  the  Cardinal,  on 
parental  duty: 

"The  right  of  the  state  is  founded  upon  the 
natural  right  and  duty  of  parents  to  educate  their 
offspring.  So  long  as  they  discharge  this  duty  the 
state  has  no  right  to  intervene.  Parental  rights 
are  in  possession,  and  by  the  law  of  nature,  which 
is  the  law  of  God,  they  are  anterior  to  state  rights 
and  are  supreme.  If  parents  neglect  their  duty 
they  suspend,  or  even  may  abdicate,  their  rights. 
.  .  .  What  the  High  Court  of  Justice  does  in 
protecting  the  heirlooms  of  its  wards,  the  state 
does  in  protecting  the  education  of  children. 
They  have  rights  of  which  they  may  not  be  de- 
frauded. But  the  intervention  of  the  state  in 
loco  parentis  charges  the  state  with  the  duty  of 
doing  what  the  parents  were  bound  to  do.  The 
children,  therefore,  of  Christian  parents  have  a 
right  to  Christian  education."  13 

An  acute  American  Catholic  apologist,  dealing 
with  the  question  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
American  Republic  and  its  institutions,  has  based 
the  right  of  the  state  to  educate  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  self-preservation: 

"  The  Education  Commission  and  the  School  Rate,  p.  28. 
™  Ib.,  p.  26. 


228  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

"In  no  country  of  the  world  is  the  necessity  of 
education  more  deeply  felt  than  in  our  own,  for 
in  no  country  do  the  people  enjoy  so  large  a  share 
in  the  government.  Universal  suffrage  demands 
universal  education,  else  it  might  prove  to  be  a 
curse  rather  than  a  blessing.  Ignorant  voters 
become  an  easy  prey  to  demagogues.  In  order, 
then,  that  those  who  are  growing  up  in  this  coun- 
try may  be  able  in  the  future  to  exercise  intelli- 
gently the  right  of  suffrage  and  the  other  duties 
of  citizenship,  at  least  a  certain  amount  of  ele- 
mentary education  is  necessary.  We  therefore 
willingly  grant  that  it  is  both  the  right  and  the 
duty  of  the  state  to  see  that  such  an  education  is 
given.  We  say  not  only  the  right  but  also  the 
duty,  for  the  duty  of  self-preservation  binds  the 
state  as  well  as  the  individual,  and  therefore  the 
state  is  as  much  bound  to  take  all  lawful  means 
to  secure  its  permanence  and  well-being  as  a  man 
is  to  preserve  his  life  and  health.  It  is  through 
a  realization  of  this  duty  that  our  government 
has  established  our  present  system  of  public  in- 
struction. Its  aim  in  this  institution  is  to  furnish 
to  each  and  all  of  the  children  under  its  jurisdic- 
tion such  elementary  knowledge  as  is  necessary 
and  sufficient  to  make  them  good  citizens  of  the 
republic.  Now,  if  this  end  be  attained,  the  state 
need  have  no  concern  as  to  the  peculiar  method 
by  which,  or  the  persons  by  whom,  such  instruc- 
tion is  imparted.  Provided  the  end  be  com- 
passed, the  means  of  its  accomplishment  must  be 
to  the  state  an  altogether  secondary  considera- 
tion. If,  then,  persons  come  forward  who  offer 
to  give  such  education,  and  who  guarantee  that 
their  instruction  shall  be  all  that  the  state  re- 
quires, that  it  shall  be  quite  as  satisfactory  as  that 


Right  of  the  State  229 

now  given  in  the  public  schools  and  at  less  cost, 
we  maintain  that  the  state  is  bound,  in  the  interest 
of  its  citizens,  to  accept  their  offer.  Such  an  offer 
is  made  by  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States."  14 


"The  Amer.  Side  of  the  School  Question,  in  Cath.  World, 
XXX,  Jan.,  1880.  The  article,  which  is  unsigned,  was  prob- 
ably written  by  the  editor,  Father  Hecker.  For  a  critical  dis- 
cussion of  the  value  of  this  argument  of  'self-preservation,' 
cf.  Compulsory  Education :  The  State  of  Ohio  vs.  The  Rev. 
Patrick  Francis  Quigley,  D.D.,  pp.  212  and  343  seq. 

Among  the  public  controversial  discussions  of  the  school 
question  between  Catholics  and  non-Catholics,  the  following 
deserve  mention  for  the  light  thrown  upon  their  respective 
positions  with  regard  to  the  fundamental  points  involved : 
Bishop  Hughes'  controversy  in  New  York,  in  1840-1 ;  the  con- 
troversy of  Bishop  Spalcling  with  the  editor  of  the  Louisville 
Journal,  in  1859  (cf.  Spalding's  Life  of  Archb.  Spalding,  pp. 
205-215)  ;  and  the  discussion  on  Denominational  Schools 
before  the  National  Education  Association  at  Nashville,  in 
1889,  the  participants  being  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  Bishop 
Keane,  on  the  one  side,  and  Edwin  D.  Mead  and  John  Jay,  on 
the  other. 

Out  of  the  large  number  of  controversial  writings  on  the 
school  question  which  have  appeared  since  the  days  of  Bishop 
Hughes,  the  following  pamphlets  or  booklets  may  be  men- 
tioned, in  addition  to  those  already  referred  to  or  to  be 
referred  to  later  in  this  chapter,  as  important  for  the  study  of 
the  Catholic  attitude  regarding  the  respective  rights  of  parent, 
state,  and  church:  Common  Schools  in  the  U.  S.  compared 
with  those  in  Europe,  by  Bishop  Spalding  (from  Brownson's 
Rev.,  1858)  ;  The  School  Question  in  the  U.  S.,  by  Hon. 
John  J.  Monell  (1867)  ;  Letters  on  Public  Schools,  by  Hon. 
Chas.  R.  Smythe  (1870)  ;  Christian  Free  Schools,  by  Bishop 
McQuaid  (1871)  ;  Our  Public  Schools,  by  Hon.  Edmund  F. 
Dunne  (1875)  ;  The  School  Question  from  a  Parental  and 
non-Sectarian  Standpoint,  by  Zach.  Montgomery  (1879?), 
:33  PP- ;  Catholics  and  Protestants  agreeing  on  the  School 
Question,  by  Rev.  I.  T.  Hecker  (Cath.  World,  1881)  ;  The 
Judges  of  Faith:  Christian  vs.  Godless  Schools,  by  Thos.  J. 
Jenkins  (1886)  ;  The  Respective  Rights  and  Duties  of  Family, 
State,  and  Church  in  regard  to  Ed.,  by  Rev.  James  Conway, 
S.J.  (Amer.  Cath.  Quart.  Rev.  IX,  1890)  ;  The  Rights  of  our 
Little  Ones,  or  First  Principles  on  Ed.  in  Catechetical  Form, 
by  same  author;  Christian  Education  discussed  by  Leading 
Thinkers  of  the  Clergy  and  Laity  (1891)  ;  The  Educational 
Fact,  by  Rev.  Timothy  Brosnahan,  S.J.  (Amer.  Cath.  Q.  Rev., 
1905)  ;  Pastoral  Letter  a  Christian  Ed.,  by  Bishop  Stang 


230  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 


DIVERGENT     CATHOLIC     VIEWS 

While  Catholics  have  agreed  in  attributing  to 
the  parent  priority  of  right  in  respect  to  educa- 
tion, and  to  the  Church  the  controlling  influence 
over  the  education  of  her  own  children,  there 
have  been  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  extent 
and  basis  of  the  state's  right  in  education.  Has 
the  state  the  right  to  educate,  even  outside  of  the 
exigency  imposed  on  it  by  the  default  of  parents? 
Connected  with  this  theoretical  question,  there 
has  existed  a  practical  question  as  to  the  attitude 
of  Catholics  towards  the  public  schools:  May 
the  teaching  of  religion  be  separated  from  the 
teaching  of  the  secular  branches,  and  the  latter 
turned  over  to  the  state?  or,  in  other  words,  may 
Catholics  recognize  and  accept  the  public  schools, 
provided  they  be  allowed  to  teach  religion  before 
or  after  school  hours?  The  two  questions, 
although  not  necessarily  connected,  have  fre- 
quently been  so  in  fact.  As  a  matter  of  con- 
venience, however,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of 
clearness  and  continuity,  the  consideration  of  the 
practical  question  will  be  postponed  to  the  fol- 
lowing chapter. 

The  enforcement  of  the  decrees  of  the  Third 

(1907)  ;  The  Christian  School,  Pastoral  Letter  of  Bishop 
McFaul  (1907). 

Among  magazine  articles,  the  following  may  be  mentioned : 
Cath.  World:  The  School  Question,  XI,  91  ;  Schools  in  Rela- 
tion to  State  and  Religion,  XXII,  433;  Public  Schools,  are 
they  Free?  XVIII,  i  ;  Tracy,  Church,  State,  and  School,  L, 
530;  Jenkins,  Amer.  Christian  State  Schools,  LIT,  646.  Amer. 
Cath.  Quarterly  Rev. :  Bayma,  The  Liberalistic  View  of  the 
Public  School  Question,  I,  i,  240;  Becker  (Rt.  Rev.),  Secular 
Education,  XVII,  176. 

For  other  references,  cf.  the  Bouquillon  Controversy. 


Dr.  Bouquiiloris  Views  231 

Plenary  Council,  requiring  pastors  to  establish 
parish  schools  and  parents  to  send  their  children 
to  Catholic  schools,  raised  the  interest  of  Catho- 
lics in  educational  questions  to  a  high  pitch.  The 
great  body  of  the  faithful  were  heartily  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  spirit  of  the  legislation,  and,  on 
the  part  of  both  clergy  and  people,  there  was, 
in  general,  a  zealous  effort  to  carry  out  the  new 
decrees  where  they  had  not  been  already  antici- 
pated. A  mighty  impetus  was  thus  given  to  the 
Catholic  school  movement,  which  showed  itself  in 
the  erection  of  new  schools  as  well  as  in  efforts 
to  raise  the  standard  of  efficiency  throughout  the 
entire  school-system.  The  instances  in  which 
the  penalties  decreed  by  the  Council  were  invoked 
by  bishops  against  members  of  either  the  clergy 
or  laity  were,  comparatively  speaking,  few.  But 
these  cases  seldom  failed  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  press;  and  although  the  public  discussion 
of  them  exaggerated  the  importance  of  the  oppo- 
sition to  the  decrees,  especially  to  non-Catholics, 
it  served  to  intensify  the  interest  of  Catholics  in 
the  religious,  philosophical  and  educational  ques- 
tions involved. 

DR.  BOUQUILLON'S  VIEWS 

Such  was  the  situation  when,  in  December, 
1891,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bouquillon,  D.  D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Moral  Theology  at  the  newly  founded 
Catholic  University,  at  Washington,  published  a 
32-page  pamphlet  entitled,  Education:  to  Whom 
does  it  Belong?1^ 

"Education:    to  whom  does  it  belong?  with  a  Rejoinder  to 


232  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

The  special  object  he  had  in  view  was,  he  stated, 
to  show  that  "education  belongs  to  men  taken  in- 
dividually and  collectively  in  legitimate  associa- 
tion, to  the  family,  to  the  state,  to  the  Church, 
to  all  four  together,  and  not  to  any  one  of  these 
four  factors  separately  ";  and  that  "  education  is 
one  of  those  mixed  matters  in  which  many  powers 
concur,  and  which  is  to  be  regulated  amicably 
by  the  parties  interested."  16  In  reality,  however, 
while  not  failing  to  give  attention  to  every  ele- 
ment of  this  general  thesis,  he  dealt  principally, 
both  in  the  original  pamphlet  and  in  the  Rejoin- 
der to  Critics,  with  the  question  of  the  right  of 
the  state  in  education,  as  being  the  matter  about 
which  the  divergence  of  views  existing  among 
Catholics  chiefly  centered.  It  is  on  this  point, 
consequently,  that  his  views  are  of  special  interest 
here. 

Starting  with  the  principle  that  the  "right  of 
educating"  belongs  naturally  to  every  physical 
and  moral  person,  although  the  right  in  this  case 
is  but  vague,  general  and  dependent,  being  essen- 
tially subordinate  to  the  action  of  legitimate 
authority,  civil  and  religious,  he  passes  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  parent,  for  whom  he  vindicates 

Critics.  Second  edition :  John  Murphy  Co.,  1892.  The  Rev. 
Thomas  Bouquillon  was  born  at  Warneton,  Belgium,  May  16, 
1842.  He  studied  philosophy  and  theology  at  Roulcrs,  Bruges, 
and  at  Rome,  where  he  was  made  a  Doctor  of  Theology  in 
1867.  After  teaching  at  Bruges,  and  at  the  Catholic  University 
of  Lille,  France,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Moral  The- 
ology at  the  Catholic  University  of  America,  at  Washington, 
in  1889,  a  position  which  he  occupied  until  his  death  in  1903. 
He  published  several  important  theological  works,  and  was  a 
frequent  contributor  to  theological  periodical  literature.  Cf. 
Cath.  Univ.  Bull,  IX,  p.  158. 
18  Ib.,  Rejoinder,  p.  i. 


Dr.  Bouquillori's  Views  233 

a  special  and  proper  right  to  educate,  a  right 
which  gives  to  the  parent  inadmissible  control  of 
the  education  of  his  child;  although  here,  too, 
the  right  is  not  independent,  but  subjected  to  the 
control  of  authority,  religious  and  civil,  within 
the  proper  sphere  of  each.17  Coming  thence  to 
the  main  question,  he  asks  whether  the  state  also 
has  the  special  and  proper  right  of  teaching 
human  knowledge — the  teaching  of  religion 
being,  of  course,  reserved  to  the  spiritual 
authority. 

"We  say  special  and  proper  right,"  he  con- 
tinues, "for  there  can  be  no  question  of  a  vague 
and  general  right:  it  were  unreasonable  to  refuse 
to  the  state  that  which  is  granted  to  every  legiti- 
mate association.  Let  us  add  that  teaching,  as 
far  as  the  state  is  concerned  therein,  means  estab- 
lishing schools,  appointing  teachers,  prescribing 
methods  and  programs  of  study:  the  state  teaches 
in  the  same  way  as  it  governs  and  judges,  viz., 
through  delegates  fitted  for  such  functions. 
Finally,  we  are  inquiring  what  is  the  right  of  the 
state  considered  in  itself,  omitting  the  consider- 
ation of  the  conditions  and  circumstances  under 
which  it  may  prudently  and  legitimately  use  the 
right. 

'  These  considerations  being  premised  to  obvi- 
ate all  equivocation,  we  affirm  unhesitatingly,  and 
in  accord,  as  we  think,  with  the  principles  of 
sound  theology  and  philosophy,  and  with  the 
testimony  of  the  tradition  of  the  Church,  that  it 
must  be  admitted,  as  the  larger  number  of  theo- 
logians do  admit,  that  the  state  has  the  right  to 
educate.  The  following  reason,  drawn  from  the 

"Education:    to  whom  does  it  belong?  p.  10. 


234  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

very  nature  of  things,  and,  in  our  judgment, 
thoroughly  apodictical,  will  suffice.  Civil  author- 
ity has  the  right  to  use  all  legitimate  temporal 
means  it  judges  necessary  for  the  attainment  of 
the  temporal  common  welfare,  which  is  the  end 
of  civil  society.  Now,  among  the  most  neces- 
sary means  for  the  attainment  of  the  temporal 
welfare  of  the  commonwealth  is  the  diffusion  of 
human  knowledge.  Therefore  civil  authority 
has  the  right  to  use  the  means  necessary  for  the 
diffusion  of  such  knowledge,  that  is  to  say,  to 
teach  it,  or  rather  to  have  it  taught  by  capable 
agents."  18 

There  is  discernible  in  Dr.  Bouquillon's  views 
a  tendency  towards  the  attribution  of  more  to 
the  state  in  the  matter  of  the  right  to  educate 
than  American  Catholics  had  been  generally  will- 
ing to  allow,  and  in  several  passages  this  tendency 
appeared  in  explicit  statements.  Thus,  he  was 
the  first  to  proclaim  that  the  state  has  the  special 
and  proper  right  to  educate.  He  does  indeed 
vindicate  for  the  parent  also  a  special  and  proper 
right,  and  even  concedes  to  the  parent  the  pri- 
ority of  right;  but  the  priority  he  concedes  to  the 
parent  appears  to  be  in  the  order  of  time,  rather 
than  in  the  moral  order,  although  on  this  latter 
point  his  meaning  may  be  open  to  question.  At 
any  rate,  the  right  of  the  state  to  educate,  he 
held,  is  not  simply  a  right  in  loco  parentis,  spring- 
ing from  the  parent's  default,  but  a  right  arising 

"Education:  to  whom  does  it  belong?  p.  11.  For  a  critical 
analysis  of  this  argument,  cf.  the  plea  of  Judge  Edmund  F. 
Dunne  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  in  the  case  of  The 
State  of  Ohio  vs.  The  Rev.  Patrick  Francis  Quigley,  D.D., 
p.  391  seq. 


Dr.  Bouquillon' s  Views  235 

from  the  very  nature  of  things,  a  right  necessary, 
or  at  least  useful,  to  the  attainment  of  the  state's 
end  and  co-existent  with  the  parental  right.19 

Again,  in  basing  the  state's  right  to  educate 
upon  the  end  for  which  the  state  was  instituted, — 
the  attainment  of  the  temporal  welfare  of  the 
commonwealth,  Dr.  Bouquillon  was  advancing  to 
new  ground,  as  compared  with  previous  Ameri- 
can Catholic  apologists.  One  of  these  had,  as 
has  been  shown,  claimed  for  the  state  the  right 
of  prescribing  universal  elementary  education  to 
the  degree  required  for  the  intelligent  discharge 
of  the  common  duties  of  citizenship,  and  this  on 
the  ground  of  its  being  necessary  to  the  state's 
self-preservation.20  But  the  principle  laid  down 
by  Dr.  Bouquillon  as  the  basis  of  the  state's  right 
is  much  broader  than  this.  The  "temporal  wel- 
fare of  the  commonwealth"  is  more  comprehen- 
sive than  the  "self-preservation  of  the  state";21 
and  the  "diffusion  of  human  knowledge"  means 
much  more  than  "a  certain  amount  of  elementary 
education."  Not  only  was  a  new  position 
taken,  therefore,  with  regard  to  the  right  of  the 
state  to  educate,  but  the  position  taken  was  made 
to  rest  upon  a  principle  that  was  also  new  to 
Catholic  school  apologists  in  this  country,  what- 
ever acceptation  this  principle  may  have  achieved 
in  the  Old  World. 

From  the  principles  thus  laid  down,  Dr.  Bou- 
quillon concluded  logically  that  the  state  has  the 
power  of  exacting  "ordinary  and  reasonable  con- 

19  Cf.  quotation  supra;    also  p.  20. 

20  Cf.  p.  228  supra;    also,  Cath  World,  Apr.,  1870,  p.  99- 

21  Education,  to  whom  does  it  belong?  p.  15. 

22  Ib. 


236  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

ditions  of  qualification"  from  those  who  wish  to 
teach,23  and  also  that  it  may  prescribe  compulsory 
education.  Although  he  was  not  the  first  Catho- 
lic apologist  in  this  country  to  ascribe  to  the  state 
the  right  of  compulsory  education,24  the  follow- 
ing expression  of  his  opinion  as  to  how  far  the 
state  may  go  in  this  direction  will  not  be  without 
interest: 

"If  the  state  may  coerce  parents  who  neglect 
the  education  of  their  children,  so  also  may  it 
determine  a  minimum  of  instruction  and  make  it 
obligatory.  Who  admits  the  former  must  admit 
the  latter.  The  consequence  seems  to  us  logically 
necessary,  and  we  are  surprised  that  all  do  not 
see  it.  Consider,  when  are  parents  called  negli- 
gent? Evidently,  when  they  do  not  give  their 
children  a  minimum  of  education.  If  then  you 
grant  the  state  power  over  cases  of  neglect,  you 
at  once  give  it  power  to  define  what  is  the  mini- 
mum of  education,  and  to  exact  that  minimum  by 
way  of  prevention  and  of  general  precept.25 

"In  granting  to  the  state  the  power  of  making 
obligatory  a  minimum  of  instruction,  we  do  not 
grant  the  power  of  prescribing  a  standard  arbi- 
trarily set  up.  This  minimum  is  naturally  de- 
termined by  public  opinion,  it  will  comprehend 
everywhere  reading,  writing,  and  the  elements  of 

23  Op.  cit,  p.  24. 

24  Cf.    Cath.   World,    Apr.,    1870,   and   Jan.,    1880.      Cf.   also 
Amer.  Eccl.  Rev.,  Vols.  Ill  and  VI,  for  a  learned  discussion 
of    the    subject    of    compulsory    education,    by    the    Rev.    Dr. 
Messmer,  later  Archbishop  of  Milwaukee,  who  would  restrict 
the  power  of  the  state  in  the  matter  within  very  narrow  limits, 
although  he  admits  that,  in   respect  to  compulsory  education, 
"the  Church  allows  free  scope  of  opinion." — Amer.  Eccl.  Rev., 
VI,  p.  in. 

"Education:    to  whom  does  it  belong?  p.  26. 


Dr.  Bouquillon's  Views  237 

arithmetic — the  three  R's.  In  certain  countries 
and  under  certain  conditions,  the  standard  may 
be  higher.  'For,'  as  Taparelli  very  well  says, 
'the  words,  elementary  studies,  higher  sciences, 
are  terms  relative  to  the  condition  of  each  society, 
to  the  progress  of  the  sciences  that  are  taught  in 
it,  to  the  century  in  which  it  lives.  A  science 
which  today  is  classed  among  the  elementary, 
might  have  been  simply  marvellous  in  the  middle 
ages.'  While  granting  to  the  state  the  power  to 
force  the  father  to  give  to  the  child  a  minimum 
of  education,  we  do  not  grant  to  the  state  the 
power  to  force  the  father  to  send  the  child  to  a 
certain  determined  school,  if  the  father  chooses 
to  give  the  prescribed  minimum  at  home,  or  in 
any  school  of  his  choice.  Compulsory  state 
schools  are  not  logically  included  in  compulsion 
of  education.  In  a  word,  to  recognize  in  the  state 
a  power  is  not  to  recognize  in  the  state 
the  moral  right  to  abuse  the  power,  however 
much  the  possibility  of  the  abuse  may  be  ad- 
mitted. 

"If  the  state  may  exact  on  the  part  of  teachers 
evidences  of  capability,  on  the  part  of  the  chil- 
dren a  minimum  of  instruction,  if  it  may  punish 
negligent  parents,  it  follows  that  it  may  also  pre- 
scribe the  teaching  of  this  or  that  branch,  the 
knowledge  of  which,  considering  the  circum- 
stances, is  deemed  necessary  to  the  majority  of 
the  citizens.  No  more  difficulty  in  the  one  case 
than  in  the  other.  Moreover,  it  Is  not  needed 
that  we  should  remark  that  the  state  has  over 
all  schools  the  authority  of  inspection  as  to 
hygiene  and  public  morality."  26 

"Education:    to  whom  docs  it  belong?  pp.  27,  28. 


238  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

THE     CONTROVERSY 

Dr.  Bouquillon's  pamphlet  precipitated  an 
educational  controversy  among  Catholics  which 
was  without  parallel  in  American  Catholic  history, 
in  point  of  extent,  intensity,  and  bitterness  of  feel- 
ing. He  dealt,  it  is  true,  only  with  questions 
considered  in  the  abstract,  and  he  had  no  inten- 
tion, he  declared,  of  derogating  from  aught  that 
had  been  laid  down  in  the  authoritative  decrees 
of  councils  as  to  the  necessity,  under  actual  cir- 
cumstances, of  a  distinctively  Catholic  system  of 
schools.27  But  the  Poughkeepsie  and  Faribault 
plans  had  excited  heated  discussion  among 
Catholics,  and,  while  the  decision  of  Rome  was 
awaited,28  advocates  of  these  measures  seized 
upon  Dr.  Bouquillon's  arguments  as  affording  a 
basis  of  sound  theoretical  principles  for  the  sup- 
port of  such  compromises  with  the  state.  The 
distinguished  position  of  the  author,  too,  and  his 
reputation  as  a  theologian,  compelled  respect  for 
his  views.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  at- 
tention of  the  whole  Catholic  world  was,  within 
a  few  weeks,  fixed  upon  the  school  controversy 
which  the  publication  of  the  pamphlet  aroused. 

A  few  days  after  the  appearance  of  the 
pamphlet,  the  Rev.  R.  I.  Holaind,  S.J.,  in  a 
treatise  of  some  34  pages,  sounded  a  vigorous 
call  to  the  defense  of  what  he  regarded  as  the 
traditional  Catholic  principles  in  respect  to  the 
right  of  education.29  Although  his  work  bore 

"Education:  to  whom  does  it  belong?  p.  15;  Rejoinder, 
p.  4. 

28  Cf.  the  chapter  which  follows. 

19  The  Parent  First,  an  Answer  to  ''Education  :  to  whom  does 
it  belong?" 


The  Controversy  239 

the  ear-marks  of  hasty  composition,  this  distin- 
guished Catholic  professor  and  publicist,  with  a 
clear  view  of  the  nature  and  scope  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  at  stake,  denied  to  the  state 
the  right  of  compulsory  education  and  the  "spe- 
cial and  proper  right  to  teach,"  holding  that 
necessity,  rather  than  common  utility,  is  the  basis 
of  the  state's  right  to  teach,  such  as  it  is: 

"The  parent  has  the  priority  both  in  concept 
and  in  fact.  The  church  has  the  supreme  direc- 
tion, because  she  has  the  noblest  end  and  the 
most  sacred  mission.  By  her  side  stands  the  state, 
aiming  at  the  public  good  without  interfering 
with  private  or  domestic  rights,  but  ready  to 
answer  the  call  of  the  humblest  member  of 
society,  ever  watching  over  that  order  on  which 
depend  the  peace  and  happiness  of  nations."  30 

Father  Holaind's  pamphlet  was,  unfortu- 
nately, not  free  from  a  certain  asperity  of  tone, 
a  polemical  blemish  that  attached  in  greater  or 
less  degree  to  most  of  the  other  writings  pertain- 
ing to  this  controversy,  including  Dr.  Bouquil- 
lon's  Rejoinder  to  Critics,  which  appeared  within 
a  month  of  the  publication  of  his  original  pam- 
phlet, and  was  directed  chiefly  against  Father 
Holaind. 

Dr.  Bouquillon's  views  were  greeted  with  a 
storm  of  criticism  which  clearly  showed  that, 
although  he  was  by  no  means  alone  in  their 
advocacy,  and  although  they  found  favor  even 
with  some  members  of  the  hierarchy,  they  were, 
nevertheless,  out  of  harmony  with  the  views  held 
by  most  American  Catholics  at  the  time.  Catho- 
80  Education :  to  whom  does  it  belong?  p.  21. 


240  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

lie  newspapers  and  Catholic  magazines  alike 
joined  in  the  attack.  A  voice  here  and  there  was 
raised  in  his  defense,  but  these  were  almost  lost 
in  the  opposing  din.  The  secular  press,  too,  gave 
evidence  that  the  general  public  was  deeply  in- 
terested.31 Perhaps  the  most  notable  of  the 
many  critical  discussions  of  Dr.  Bouquillon's 
views  which  appeared  was  a  11 6-page  booklet 
by  the  Rev.  James  Conway,  S.J.,  entitled,  The 
State  Last,  containing  a  Supplement  reviewing 
the  Rejoinder  to  Critics.  Besides  attacking  the 
soundness  of  Dr.  Bouquillon's  views,  Father 
Conway  sought  to  shatter  the  argument  of 
authority  which  he  had  employed,  by  showing 
that  his  views  were  really  in  opposition  to  the 
teaching  of  recognized  Catholic  philosophers  and 
theologians.32 

81  Dr.  Bouquillon  himself  contributed  an  article  to  the  Ed. 
Review,  Apr.,  1892,  in  reply  to  a  previous  article  by  John  A. 
Mooney,  entitled,  "The  Catholic  Controversy  about  Education." 

32  For  a  study  of  the  Bouquillon  Controversy,  cf.  the  Catholic 
newspapers  during  the  year  1892.  Of  special  interest  are  the 
series  of  "Conversations"  contributed  to  the  N.  Y.  Freeman's 
Journal  during  Feb.  and  Mar.,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  J.  de  Concilio, 
and  republished  in  pamphlet  form  ;  the  articles  in  the  Catholic 
News  in  Jan.,  by  the  Rev.  E.  A.  Higgins,  S. J. ;  and  the  articles 
in  the  Northwestern  Chronicle. 

Of  more  permanent  interest  and  importance  are  the  follow- 
ing magazine  articles :  Amer.  Eccl.  Review,  1892,  Feb. : 
Chatard  (Rt.  Rev.),  Dr.  Bouquillon  on  the  School  Question; 
Messmer,  The  Right  of  Instruction;  Loughlin,  The  School 
Controversy  in  the  U.  S.;  The  Editor,  The  Rejoinder  to  the 
Critics;  April:  State  Control  and  Relative  Rights  in  the 
School;  O'Sullivan,  Is  it  Opportune?  May:  Schroeder  (Rt. 
Rev.),  Amer.  Catholics  and  European  School  Legislation; 
June:  Holaind,  A  Last  Word;  Nov.:  Montgomery,  Contem- 
plated Ed.  Alliance  between  Church  and  State;  Dec.:  Editor, 
Recent  Decision  of  the  Holy  See  in  case  of  Faribault  and 
Stillwater  Schools  (Supplement).  Catholic  World,  1892,  Jan.: 
Jenkins,  The  Amenities  of  the  School  Adjustment;  Feb. : 
Dr.  Bouquillon's  Rejoinder.  Cf.  also  Cath.  Schools  and  State 
Control  (pamphlet),  by  Janus,  1892. 


The  Controversy  241 

An  important  feature  of  the  controversy  was 
the  attack  made  upon  Dr.  Bouquillon's  views  by 
Father  Brandi,  S.J.,  editor  of  the  Civilta  Cat- 
tolica,  Rome.  On  Jan.  2,  1892,  the  pamphlet 
was  reviewed  in  the  pages  of  this  journal,  and 
severely  criticised.33  To  this  Dr.  Bouquillon  re- 
plied in  his  Rejoinder  to  the  Civilta  Cattolica, 
which  appeared  the  following  month.34  Father 
Brandi's  reply  to  this  Rejoinder  was  re-published 
in  pamphlet  form  in  March,  and  dealt  largely 
with  the  question  of  the  authorities  cited  by  Dr. 
Bouquillon  in  support  of  his  views.35 

Dr.  Bouquillon's  pamphlet  appears  to  have 
played  an  important  part  in  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  sustaining  the  State's 
Compulsory  Education  Act.30  The  test-case  of 
"The  State  of  Ohio  vs.  The  Rev.  Patrick  Francis 
Quigley,  D.  D.,"  was  before  the  Supreme  Court, 
on  appeal,  when  the  pamphlet  appeared.  Copies 
of  it  were  given  to  the  judges,  and  the  views  of 
the  author  entered  largely  into  the  arguments  of 
the  case.  Judge  Dunne,  counsel  for  the  defense, 
in  his  able  and  exhaustive  argument  against  com- 
pulsory education,  devoted  no  less  than  fifty  pages 
to  a  critical  discussion  of  Dr.  Bouquillon's  views.37 

33  La  Civilta  Cattolica,  1892,  Vol.  I,  p.  82.     This  article  ap- 
peared in  an  English  translation  in  several  Catholic  papers, 
and  was  also  reprinted  in  pamphlet  form  by  Benziger  Bros. 

34  Education,  to  whom  does  it  Belong?    A  Rejoinder  to  the 
Civilta  Cattolica, — this  being  Dr.  Bouquillon's  third  pamphlet. 

35  La  Santa  Sede  e  La  Questione  Scolastica  negli  Stati  Uniti, 
5  Marzo,  1892,  Vol.  II,  p.  385. 

38  See  page  219. 

87  Cf.  Compulsory  Education:    The  State  of  Ohio  vs.  The 
Rev.  Patrick  Francis  Quigley,  D.D.,  pp.  354-403. 


242  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 


PROPOSITIONS    OF    CARDINAL    8ATOLLI 

The  decision  of  the  Holy  See  in  the  Faribault 
school  case,  in  the  spring  of  1892,  combined 
with  other  causes,  brought  a  lull  in  the  storm. 
The  matter  continued  to  be  agitated,  however, 
and  when,  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  the  Most  Rev. 
Francis  Satolli  came  to  represent  the  Holy  See 
at  the  Columbian  Exposition  and  to  examine  into 
the  affairs  of  the  Church,  he  announced  to  the 
Archbishops,  assembled  for  their  annual  meeting 
in  New  York,  Nov.  16,  that  he  had  been  com- 
missioned by  the  Holy  Father  to  speak  to  them, 
in  his  name,  on  the  question  of  Catholic  educa- 
tion, the  recent  discussion  of  which  in  the  United 
States  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Catholic 
world.  He  then  read  and  explained  fourteen 
propositions,  which  he  laid  before  them  for  the 
purpose  of  finally  settling  the  school  question. 
These  propositions  reaffirmed  the  decrees  of  the 
Third  Plenary  Council  touching  the  establish- 
ment and  maintenance  of  parish  schools,  and  the 
duty  of  parents  to  send  their  children  to  them, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  they  dealt  more  explicitly 
with  the  question  of  the  attendance  of  Catholic 
children  at  the  public  schools.  Their  historical 
interest  naturally  centers  about  this  last  point. 
Several  of  the  original  propositions,  which  were 
in  Latin,  were  regarded  by  some  of  the  prelates 
as  involving  a  departure  from  the  legislation  of 
the  Third  Plenary  Council,  inasmuch  as  they 
were  thought  to  have  a  tendency  to  excuse  too 
readily  the  sending  of  Catholic  children  to  the 


Propositions  of  Cardinal  Satolli  243 

public  schools.  Alterations  were  made  in  these, 
and  in  the  official  English  translation,  only  the 
propositions  as  amended  appear.  The  quota- 
tions that  follow  are  from  the  English  version. 
The  attitude  of  the  Church  towards  the  public 
schools  is  set  forth  in  several  propositions: 

"The  Catholic  church  in  general,  and  espe- 
cially the  Holy  See,  far  from  condemning  or 
treating  with  indifference  the  public  schools,  de- 
sires rather  that,  by  the  joint  action  of  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  authorities,  there  should  be  public 
schools  in  every  State,  according  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  people  require,  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  useful  arts  and  natural  sciences;  but  the 
Catholic  Church  shrinks  from  those  features  of 
public  schools  which  are  opposed  to  the  truth  of 
Christianity  and  to  morality;  and  since,  in  the 
interest  of  society  itself,  these  objectionable 
features  are  removable,  therefore,  not  only  the 
bishops,  but  the  citizens  at  large  should  labor  to 
remove  them,  in  virtue  of  their  own  right  and  in 
the  cause  of  morality."  38 

Were  these  "objectionable  features"  removed, 
it  was  declared  to  be  lawful  for  Catholics  to  send 
their  children  to  the  public  schools: 
i 

"Wherefore,  if  it  be  clear  that  in  a  given 
locality,  owing  to  the  wiser  dispositions  of  public 
authorities,  or  the  watchful  prudence  of  school 
board,  teachers  and  parents,  the  above  named 
dangers  to  faith  and  morals  disappear,  then  it  is 
lawful  for  Catholic  parents  to  send  their  children 
to  these  schools,  to  acquire  the  elements  of  let- 

38  Prop.  VII,  original  translation;    cf.  Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed., 
1894-5,  p.  1667,  where  the  Propositions  are  found  in  full. 


244]  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

ters  and  arts,  provided  the  parents  themselves 
do  not  neglect  their  most  serious  duty,  and  the 
pastors  of  souls  put  forth  every  effort,  to  instruct 
the  children  and  train  them  in  all  that  pertains 
to  Catholic  worship  and  life."  39 

And  again: 

"  It  is  greatly  to  be  desired,  and  will  be  a  most 
happy  arrangement,  if  the  bishop  agree  with  the 
civil  authorities  or  with  the  members  of  the 
school  board,  to  conduct  the  school  with  mutual 
attention  and  due  consideration  for  their  respect- 
ive rights."  40 

The  reference  which  then  follows  to  the  recent 
letter  of  the  Pope  to  the  Archbishop  of  New 
York  and  the  bishops  of  the  Province,  in  which 
appeal  is  made  for  the  recognition  by  the  state 
of  the  just  rights  of  Catholics  in  respect  to  the 
education  of  their  children  at  the  common  ex- 
pense, shows  that  the  ultimate  ideal  which  the 
author  had  in  mind  was  that  of  distinctively 
Catholic  schools,  recognized  and  supported  by 
the  state. 

In  regard  to  supplying  religious  instruction  to 
Catholic  children  actually  attending  the  public 
schools,  several  plans  were  suggested: 

"The  first  consists  in  an  agreement  between 
the  bishop  and  the  members  of  the  school  board, 
whereby  they,  in  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  good 
will,  allow  the  Catholic  children  to  be  assembled 
during  free  time  and  taught  the  catechism;  it 
would  also  be  of  the  greatest  advantage  if  this 

89  Prop.  VIII. 
40  Prop.  XI. 


The  Pope's  Letter  on  the  School  Question        245 

plan  were  not  confined  to  the  primary  schools, 
but  were  extended  likewise  to  the  high  schools 
and  colleges,  in  the  form  of  a  free  lecture."  41 

This  was,  in  fact,  the  arrangement  carried  out 
in  the  Faribault  plan.  The  propositions  also 
urged,  as  was  done  by  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil, that  the  parish  schools  be  maintained  on  a 
plane  of  efficiency  not  inferior  to  that  of  the 
public  schools: 

"It  is  left  to  the  judgment  and  the  wisdom  of 
the  Ordinaries  to  decide  whether,  in  a  certain 
part  of  their  respective  dioceses,  a  parochial 
school  can  be  built  and  kept  up  in  a  fitting  condi- 
tion, not  inferior  to  the  public  schools,  taking 
into  consideration  the  temporal  condition  of  the 
parents,  while  graver  needs  for  procuring  their 
spiritual  welfare  and  the  decent  support  of  the 
Church  are  pressing."  42 

In  this  connection,  it  was  suggested  that  teachers 
in  Catholic  schools  secure,  not  only  the  certificate 
or  diploma  of  the  diocesan  board,  but  also  a 
teacher's  diploma  from  the  educational  authori- 
ties representing  the  state.43 

THE    POPE'S    LETTER   ON   THE    SCHOOL    QUESTION 

The  fourteen  propositions  of  Archbishop 
Satolli,  who,  soon  after  the  meeting  of  the  Arch- 
bishops in  New  York,  was  named  Apostolic 
Delegate  to  the  United  States,  instead  of  settling 

41  Prop.  XII. 

42  Prop.  IX. 

"  Prop.  XIII. 


246  Catholic  Schools  and  the  State 

the  school  controversy,  only  led  to  its  breaking 
out  afresh.  Contrary  to  the  intention  of  the 
Holy  See,  the  propositions  were  made  public,  and 
interpretations  were  put  upon  their  meaning 
which  threatened  to  foster  even  more  serious  dis- 
sension among  Catholics  than  had  been  mani- 
fested by  the  Bouquillon  controversy.  Those  who 
had  favored  the  views  of  Dr.  Bouquillon,  or  at 
least  a  more  tolerant  attitude  towards  the  public 
schools,  were  disposed  to  see  in  these  proposi- 
tions a  justification  of  their  attitude.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  opponents  of  Dr.  Bouquillon  and 
of  the  Faribault  plan,  while  maintaining  that  the 
propositions  were  never  intended  to  bear  some 
of  the  meanings  drawn  from  them,  felt  that  Cath- 
olic educational  interests  were  jeopardized  anew. 
The  discussion  of  the  school  question  was,  in 
fact,  begun  all  over  again.  At  this  point,  how- 
ever, Rome  opportunely  intervened.  Inviting  an 
expression  of  opinion  from  each  of  the  arch- 
bishops, the  Holy  See  ascertained  that  while  some 
found  in  the  propositions  no  reason  for  appre- 
hension, "to  others  it  seemed  that  the  proposi- 
tions partially  abrogated  the  disciplinary  law 
concerning  schools  enacted  by  the  Council  of 
Baltimore,  and  they  feared  that  the  diversity  of 
interpretations  put  upon  them  would  engender 
sad  dissensions,  which  would  prove  detrimental 
to  the  Catholic  schools."  44  Such  interpretations, 
the  Supreme  Pontiff  declared,  were  totally  alien 
from  the  meaning  of  the  Delegate,  inasmuch  as 
the  principal  propositions  offered  by  him  were 

"Letter  of  Pope  Leo  XIIT,  dated  May  31,   1893,  to  James 
Cardinal  Gibbons,  in  Amer.  Cath.  Quart.  Rev.,  XVIII,  p.  648. 


The  Pope's  Letter  on  the  School  Question        247 

drawn  from  the  decrees  of  the  Third  Plenary 
Council.  His  latter  propositions  were,  there- 
fore, not  to  be  understood  so  as  to  make  them 
disagree  with  these  decrees.  To  leave  no  room 
for  further  doubt,  the  decrees  of  the  Baltimore 
Councils,  together  with  the  decrees  of  the  Holy 
See,  were  explicitly  declared  to  be  the  supreme 
norm,  determining  the  Catholic  attitude  towards 
both  parish  and  public  schools: 

"In  order  that,  in  a  matter  of  so  grave  im- 
portance, there  may  remain  no  further  room  for 
doubt  or  for  dissension  of  opinions,  as  we  have 
already  declared  in  our  letter  of  the  23d  of  May 
of  last  year  to  our  venerable  brethren,  the  Arch- 
bishop and  the  Bishops  of  the  Province  of  New 
York,  so  we  again,  as  far  as  need  be,  declare 
that  the  decrees  which  the  Baltimore  Councils, 
agreeably  to  the  directions  of  the  Holy  See,  have 
enacted  concerning  parochial  schools,  and  what- 
ever else  has  been  prescribed  by  the  Roman  Pon- 
tiffs, whether  directly  or  through  the  Sacred  Con- 
gregations, concerning  the  same  matter,  are  to 
be  steadfastly  observed."  45 

The  Letter  concluded  with  an  earnest  appeal 
for  the  ending  of  the  school  controversy,  and  its 
effect  was  decisive. 

"Letter  of  Pope  Leo  XIII,  dated  May  31,  1893,  to  James 
Cardinal  Gibbons,  in  Amer.  Cath.  Quart.  Rev.,  XVIII,  p.  648. 


CHAPTER  X 

STATE-SUPPORTED  CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS 
EARLY     CONDITIONS     AND      HOPES 

FOR  A  considerable  period  after  the  Revolu- 
tion, as  has  been  seen,  schools  of  the  various 
denominations  were,  quite  generally,  given  sup- 
port out  of  the  public  funds.1  It  was  natural  for 
Catholics  to  expect  the  continuance  of  this  sup- 
port, even  after  the  "non-sectarian"  system  of 
public  schools  arose.  Catholic  schools  were  on 
the  ground.  They  antedated  the  public  school 
system.  They  had  been  established  in  good  faith, 
claiming  the  right  of  public  support,  along  with 
other  denominational  schools;  and  they  had 
actually  received  recognition  of  this  right  by  the 
state  in  the  grant  of  support.  This  recognition 
and  support  were  accorded,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  in  almost  every  State.  Sometimes,  as  in 
New  York,  it  took  the  form  of  n  general  policy. 
Most  often,  however,  it  came  about  by  arrange- 
ment with  the  local  authorities.  In  some  places  it 
was  very  easy  for  the  pastor  to  make  such  an 
arrangement;  in  many  others  it  was  difficult,  if 
not  practically  impossible.  In  some  places,  again, 
nothing  more  than  a  mutual  understanding  be- 
tween the  pastor  and  the  civil  authorities  or  the 

1  Cf.  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,  p.  360. 

248 


Early  Conditions  and  Hopes  249 

school  board  was  required  as  a  basis  for  public 
support;  in  others,  formal  written  agreements 
were  drawn  up,  with  conditions  on  both  sides. 

Many  examples  of  such  agreements  might  be 
cited,  and  the  arrangement  is  still  made  here  and 
there.  An  instance  that  is  specially  instructive 
is  offered  in  a  certain  city  where  several  of  the 
Catholic  schools  are  under  the  agreement,  which 
is  still  in  force,  after  a  trial  of  forty  years.  The 
conditions  of  the  agreement  in  this  case  are  as 
follows : 

1.  The    Catholic    schools    shall    be    received 
under  the  control  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

2.  Teachers  in  the  Catholic  schools  shall  be 
in  all  cases  members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  but 
to  be  subject  to  examination  and  appointment  by 
the  Board  of  Education. 

3.  The  text-books  used  in  these  schools  shall 
be   the    same    as    are   used    in    the    other   public 
schools,  except  books  on  history,  geography,  and 
reading-books. 

4.  These  schools  shall  be  opened  with  read- 
ing the  Scriptures  and  the  Lord's  Prayer.     Such 
versions  of  Scripture  may  be  used  as  the  teacher 
may  prefer. 

5.  The   school   buildings   shall   be   under   the 
control  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

6.  The  Trustees  of  the  Catholic  school  build- 
ings shall  have  power  to  withdraw  them  from  the 
Board  of  Education  at  the  end  of  any  school  year, 
whenever  they  are  dissatisfied  with  the  arrange- 
ment, provided  that  they  shall  give  three  months 
notice  of  such  withdrawal. 

7.  In  case  of  such  withdrawal,  the  Board  of 
Education    may    remove    all    apparatus,    books, 


250  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

movable  fixtures,  and  furniture  which  they  may 
have  furnished  for  these  schools. 

8.  The   Board  of  Education   shall  have   full 
control  of  the  discipline,  instruction,  and  general 
management  of  these  schools,  the  same  as  of  the 
other  schools  under  their  care,  including  also  the 
length  of  sessions,  the    arrangement    of    school, 
courses  of  study,  work,  and  duties,   and  all  the 
interests  of  the  schools. 

9.  The  teachers  of  these  schools  will  be  ex- 
pected  to    attend   the   meetings   of   the   Normal 
class  the  same  as  teachers  of  other  public  schools. 
They  will  give  respectful   attention  to   the   sug- 
gestions and  instructions  of  the  Superintendent, 
and  are  expected  to  exert  themselves  to  carry  out 
his  views  in  the  management  and  instruction  of 
their  schools. 

10.  The  holidays  shall  be  such  as  are  usually 
given  in  Catholic  schools. 

The  catechetical  instruction  in  these  schools  is 
given  from  8:30  to  9  A.M.,  before  the  beginning 
of  the  regular  school  hours.  The  buildings  are 
owned  by  the  parishes.2 

DIFFICULTIES 

State  support  of  Catholic  schools  was  much 
more  frequent  formerly  than  it  is  at  the  present 
day.  The  gradual  exclusion  of  the  Bible  and 
religious  teaching  from  the  public  schools 
brought  with  it  a  less  tolerant  attitude  on  the  part 
of  the  public  towards  state  support  of  denomina- 
tional schools.  On  the  other  hand,  the  influx  of 

2  From  the  original  printed  articles ;  cf.  Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed., 
1894-5,  P-  J659.  The  N.  Y.  Independent,  Sept.  4,  1890,  furnishes 
several  other  interesting  examples. 


Difficulties  251 

religious  orders  during  the  Immigration  Period 
made  Catholics  more  eager  to  secure  religious 
teachers  for  their  schools,  and  to  make  these 
more  thoroughly  religious  in  spirit.  The  two 
tendencies  operated  towards  the  prevention  of 
arrangements  for  the  public  support  of  Catholic 
schools. 

The  idea  that  state  support  should  not  be 
given  to  any  school  in  which  religious  instruc- 
tion was  given,  developed  little  by  little  into  a 
fixed  attitude  of  the  non-Catholic  mind,  and  it 
has  been  written  into  the  constitutions  of  many 
of  the  States,  particularly  of  those  which  are  most 
progressive  in  matters  educational.  Legal  and 
constitutional  difficulties  have  thus  been  super- 
imposed upon  popular  sentiment,  to  form  a  bar- 
rier against  state  support  of  denominational 
schools.  The  Catholic  attitude,  however,  did  not 
change.  Deeply  convinced  of  the  soundness  of 
the  principle  of  religious  instruction  in  education, 
and  with  a  strong  sense  of  the  righteousness  of 
their  cause,  Catholics  went  on  building  schools 
and  supporting  them,  trusting  that  their  non- 
Catholic  fellow-citizens  would,  sooner  or  later, 
come  to  see  the  justice  of  their  claims.  Even 
during  the  great  wave  of  enthusiasm  for  the 
building  of  Catholic  schools  that  came  in  the 
wake  of  the  Immigration  movement,  the  leaders 
of  Catholic  educational  thought,  while  ever  urg- 
ing the  erection  of  new  schools,  sought  at  the 
same  time  to  move  public  sentiment  towards 
effective  recognition  of  the  Catholic  claim  for 
state  support. 

Two  distinct  plans  have  been  suggested  with 


252  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

the  view  of  obviating  the  legal  or  constitutional 
difficulties  involved  in  such  recognition,  and  to 
avoid  running  counter  to  the  prevailing  feeling 
against  the  expenditure  of  public  funds  for  de- 
nominational teaching.  In  the  one,  this  teaching 
is  excluded  from  the  school  curriculum  proper, 
and  assigned  to  a  time  outside  of  the  regular 
school  hours  when  the  school  building  is  no 
longer  under  the  state's  control;  in  the  other,  it 
is  excluded  from  the  legal  curriculum,  as  a  thing 
not  to  be  paid  for  by  the  state,  but  to  be  given 
voluntarily  by  the  teacher  at  the  parents'  request, 
and  during  the  regular  school  hours.  The  first 
of  these  plans  involves  a  change  in  the  character 
of  the  denominational  school;  the  second  leaves 
the  denominational  school  intact,  while  drawing  a 
legal  and  technical  distinction  between  the  secu- 
lar and  the  religious  content  of  the  curriculum. 
Both  plans  have  had  practical  exemplification  in 
American  Catholic  school  history.  The  first  has 
had  trial  in  several  instances  which,  from  their 
experimental  nature,  attracted  general  attention. 
The  second  has  also  been  acted  on,  and  is  still  in 
vogue  in  some  places,  but  so  far  it  has  depended 
for  success  chiefly  upon  a  specially  tolerant  atti- 
tude of  local  public  opinion. 

BISHOP    HUGHES'    PLAN 

The  first  of  these  two  plans  appears  to  have 
been  in  the  mind  of  Bishop  Hughes  when,  at  a 
critical  stage  of  the  school  controversy  he  became 
engaged  in,  he  submitted  a  series  of  "Proposi- 
tions "  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  New  York, 


The  Poughkeepsie  Plan  253 

in  1840.  It  must  be  remembered  that  this  great 
champion  of  Catholic  schools  was,  at  the  moment, 
in  severe  straits.  The  tide  was  going  against 
him,  and  his  supreme  concern  was,  doubtless,  to 
save  at  all  costs  the  principle  of  state  support  for 
Catholic  schools.  The  "  Propositions "  must 
therefore  be  taken  as  representing,  not  what 
he  regarded  as  the  full  measure  of  Catho- 
lic rights,  and  still  less  an  ideal  condition, 
but  simply  as  the  best  practical  compromise- 
arrangement  it  seemed  possible  to  bring  about 
under  the  circumstances.  The  teaching  of  relig- 
ion in  the  schools  had  been  proscribed  by  law,  and 
he  was  willing,  he  said,  "to  fulfill  the  conditions 
of  the  law  so  far  as  religious  teaching  is  pro- 
scribed during  school  hours."  3  He  would  accept 
the  same  organization  as  other  schools  receiving 
public  aid — "the  same  hours,  the  same  order,  the 
same  exercises,  even  the  same  inspection."  But 
he  reserved  to  the  trustees  of  the  Catholic  schools 
the  right  to  appoint  their  teachers,  and  he  re- 
served also  the  right  to  exclude  text-books  that 
might  be  objectionable  on  the  score  of  religion.* 

THE     POUGHKEEPSIE     PLAN 

Bishop  Hughes'  "Propositions"  were  rejected, 
but  in  the  year  1873  substantially  the  same  plan 
as  he  had  proposed  was  accepted  by  the  public 
board  of  education  for  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie, 
N.  Y.  Some  ten  years  before,  the  arrangement 

3  Works  of  Bishop  Hughes,  I,  p.  106. 

*  For  these  propositions  in  full,  and  for  an  account  of  the 
circumstances,  cf.  The  Cath.  School  System  in  the  U.  S.,  p. 
359  seq. 


254  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

had  been  tried  at  St.  Peter's  Church,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  and  had  worked  successfully  for  a  time.8 
The  terms  of  the  agreement  at  Poughkeepsie  are 
of  special  interest,  not  only  because  the  arrange- 
ment went  into  effect,  and  was  carried  out  to  the 
mutual  satisfaction  of  the  two  parties  concerned 
for  many  years,  but  also  because  of  the  wide 
publicity  it  achieved,  and  its  historic  influence 
in  both  a  theoretical  and  a  practical  way.  The 
plan  adopted  was,  with  the  approval  of  Arch- 
bishop— afterwards  Cardinal — McCloskey,6  pro- 
posed to  the  board  of  education  by  the  Rev.  Pat- 
rick F.  McSweeny,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  St.  Peter's 
Church,  Poughkeepsie,  who  had  under  his  charge 
at  the  time  two  schools,  one  for  boys  and  the 
other  for  girls,  with  a  total  attendance  of  over 
eight  hundred  pupils,  the  girls'  school  being 
taught  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  The  proposal 
was  referred  to  a  special  committee  of  the  board, 
whose  report  begins  with  the  following  state- 
ment of  the  situation  and  the  arguments  for  the 
proposition: 

"The  children  who  have  attended  this  class  of 
schools  are  residents  within  the  city  and  entitled 
at  any  time  to  attend  the  public  schools  under  the 
charge  of  the  board,  -  nd  when  they  do  come, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  duty  of  the  board 

"  Cf,  Centennial  Celebration  of  First  Mass  in  Conn,  (pam- 
phlet). 

6  The  system  of  National  Education  in  Ireland,  although 
much  less  favorable  to  Catholic  interests  than  the  Pough- 
keepsie plan,  was  tolerated  by  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  the 
Propaganda,  and  this  fact  must  have  had  influence  with  those 
who,  like  Cardinal  McCloskey,  looked  with  favor  upon  the 
Poughkeepsie  plan. — For  the  system  in  Ireland,  see  Acta  et 
Decreta  Sac.  Cone.  Recent.,  Collectio  Lacencis,  III,  p.  795. 


The  Poughkeepsie  Plan  255 

to  provide  for  them.  This  duty  becomes  all  the 
more  apparent  when  we  consider  the  fact  that 
for  years  the  parents,  as  tax-payers,  have  been 
and  are  contributing  to  the  educational  fund  of 
the  city,  and  in  addition  to  this  the  children  have 
been  enumerated,  and  thus  materially  enlarged 
the  amount  allotted  to  the  board  by  the  State 
authorities.  Thus  both  parents  and  children 
have  been  a  continual  source  of  revenue,  which 
has  been  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  the  public 
schools,  while  these  people  have  provided  for  the 
education  of  their  children  at  their  own  expense. 

"When  the  representatives  of  St.  Peter's 
Church  were  before  the  board,  the  members  of 
your  committee  understood  it  had  been  deter- 
mined by  those  who  heretofore  had  maintained 
their  schools  to  discontinue  them,  as  now  con- 
stituted, with  the  present  term,  and  that  the  gen- 
tlemen alluded  to  asserted  the  right  of  those  they 
represented  to  have  their  children  participate  in 
the  benefits  and  advantages  of  the  common 
school  system  of  the  city;  and  also  that  they 
asked  the  board  to  make  provision  for  them  in 
common  with  the  other  children  in  the  city  and 
without  distinction  for  or  against  them. 

"Coupled  with  this  was  a  proposition  made  by 
the  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church  to  permit  the 
board  to  use  the  school  buildings  and  furniture 
owned  by  that  church. 

"Your  committee  proceeded  to  the  consider- 
ation of  the  question  involved,  with  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  claim  to  a  right  having  been  made, 
the  board  was  called  upon  to  provide  for  a  sud- 
den and  large  increase  of  pupils,  and  that  the 
measure  of  increase  may  be  understood  they  re- 
marked that  by  the  records  of  the  board  it  ap- 


256  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

pears  that  the  average  attendance  of  pupils  at 
the  public  schools  during  the  last  fiscal  year  was 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-one;  at 
St.  Peter's  schools  the  average  is  reported  at 
eight  hundred  and  twenty."  7 

The  committee  recommended  the  acceptance 
of  Dr.  McSweeny's  proposal  upon  the  follow- 
ing terms  and  conditions: 

"i.  The  board  to  pay  the  owner  one  dollar 
per  year  rent  for  each  of  said  buildings  and  the 
school  furniture  therein,  and  in  addition  to  keep 
the  buildings  in  good  repair  and  insured. 

"2.  The  board  to  establish,  according  to  its 
rules  and  regulations  now  or  hereafter  adopted, 
a  public  school  in  each  of  said  buildings,  and  to 
have  absolute  and  unrestricted  control  of  the 
buildings  and  furniture  during  the  school  hours; 
at  other  times  the  owners  to  have  control. 

"3.  The  teachers  for  such  schools  to  be 
selected,  employed,  paid  and  subject  to  dismissal 
by  the  board,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  other 
teachers  in  its  employ,  and  such  teachers  and  the 
pupils  attending  such  schools  shall  at  all  times 
during  school  hours  be  subject  to  the  control  and 
authority  of  the  board  and  its  rules  and  regula- 
tions, and  such  schools  shall  be  open  for  the  at- 
tendance of  pupils  and  visitation  by  members  of 
the  board  the  same  as  other  public  schools. 

''Either  the  board  or  the  owners  may  termi- 
nate the  lease  at  the  end  of  any  scholastic  year 
by  giving  the  other  thirty  days'  previous  notice 
of  its  intention  to  terminate."  8 

7  Copied  from  the  original  report,  and  communicated  to  the 
author  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Sheahan,  pastor  of  St.  Peter's 
Church,  Poughkeepsie,  Apr.  12,  1910. 


The  Poughkeepsie  Plan  257 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted,  and 
the  lease  of  the  buildings  made  on  August  21, 
1873,  to  g°  into  effect  the  first  of  the  following 
month.9  The  Catholic  teachers  in  the  two  schools 
were  continued,  and  the  order  of  daily  exercises, 
under  the  arrangement,  was  as  follows: 

8  :45 — Morning  prayers. 

9  to  12 — Regular  secular  course,  as  in  other 
schools. 

12 — Short  prayer;    then  recess. 
i  P.M. — Religious  instruction. 
1 :3O— Regular  secular  course. 
3 — Closing  religious  exercises.10 

The  school  hours  were  from  9  o'clock  to  12, 
and  from  1 130  to  3.  No  child  was  compelled 
to  be  at  the  religious  exercises,  unless  by  its  own 
parents'  desire.  Protestants  were  free  to  send 
their  children  to  the  Catholic  public  schools, 
should  they  so  wish.  It  was  tacitly  understood 
that  Catholic  teachers  should  be  engaged  for  the 
Catholic  schools,  so  long  as  they  were  found  to 
be  equally  competent  with  the  other  teachers 
under  the  control  of  the  board. 

The  arrangement  thus  amicably  arrived  at 
lasted  for  many  years.  After  twelve  years'  trial, 
Father  McSweeny  was  able  to  state  publicly  that 
it  gave  satisfaction  both  to  the  Catholics  and 
to  the  members  of  the  board  of  education.11 

"Original  document  of  lease  in  possession  of  the  pastor  of 
St.  Peter's. 

10  Cath.  World,  XLIV,  p.  796. 

11  Cath.  World,  XLIII,  p.  510. 


258  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

This  was  still  the  condition  in  iSQi.12  The  dif- 
ficulty created  by  the  constitutional  provision  of 
the  State  against  the  appropriation  of  public 
funds  for  the  support  of  denominational  schools 
appeared  to  have  been  overcome  by  the  pecu- 
liar conditions  of  the  arrangement.  The  plan 
was  not  regarded  by  Catholics  as  ideal,  but  in  the 
broad  and  tolerant  spirit  in  which  its  provisions 
were  interpreted  by  the  school  board,  it  was 
hailed  by  many  as  pointing  the  way  to  a  satis- 
factory practical  solution  of  the  school  question. 
Similar  arrangements  were  made  at  Lima, 
Watervliet,  Suspension  Bridge,  Ogdensburg, 
Corning,  Rondout,  and  other  places  in  the  same 
State.13 

THE    FARIBAULT    PLAN 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  solution  of  the 
school  problem  that  had  been  effected  at  Pough- 
keepsie,  and  that  had  given  satisfaction  for  so 
many  years,  would  be  applied  elsewhere.  The 
Poughkeepsie  Plan  came  in  time  to  be  quite  gen- 
erally known  throughout  the  country,  and  in 
many  places  hopes  were  entertained  of  its  being 
successfully  copied.  In  the  Diocese  of  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota,  substantially  the  same  agreement 
was  entered  into  between  the  pastors  and  the 

12Cath.  World,  LIT,  pp.  651,  652.  See  also  N.  Y.  Inde- 
pendent, Sept.  4,  1890. 

"Letter  of  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Burtsell  to  the  author,  May  7, 
1910;  Fr.  Journal,  Mar.  3,  1906.  For  a  somewhat  similar 
arrangement  which  was  embodied  in  a  bill  presented  to  the 
legislature  of  New  Jersey  in  1893,  and  which  had  the  approval 
of  the  Apostolic  Delegate  and  the  bishops  of  New  Jersey,  cf- 
Flynn,  The  Cath.  Ch.  in  N.  J.,  p.  498  seq. 


The  Faribault  Plan  259 

school  boards  of  Stillwater  and  Faribault.  The 
arrangement  effected  in  the  case  of  these  schools, 
which  became  known  as  the  "Faribault  Plan," 
attracted  public  attention,  not  only  in  the  United 
States,  but  throughout  the  entire  Catholic  world. 
It  entered  largely  into  the  theoretical  educational 
discussions  of  the  time,  and  it  appears  to  have 
been,  along  with  its  Poughkeepsie  prototype,  their 
proximate  occasion.14 

The  school  question,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
was  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  the  time.  Espe- 
cially since  the  Third  Plenary  Council,  Catholics 
had  been  making  themselves  heard  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  an  impression  had  undoubtedly  been 
made  in  the  public  mind.  At  the  moment,  they 
were  probably  nearer  than  they  had  ever  been 
before,  or  have  ever  been  since,  to  gaining  the 
ear  of  the  public  for  the  full  and  unbiased  hear- 
ing of  their  cause.  Notwithstanding  this,  it  was 
plain  that  no  Catholic  proposition  could  hope 
for  general  acceptance,  in  a  practical  way,  which 
was  not  in  the  nature  of  a  compromise.  If  the 
Poughkeepsie  plan  was  the  practical  solution  of 
the  problem,  the  time  seemed  ripe  for  its  presen- 
tation as  such  to  the  American  people.15 

14  See  preceding  chapter,  the  Bouquillon  Controversy. 

"The  propositions  wh;r  Mgr.  Satolli  laid  before  the  Arch- 
bishops at  New  York  a  littl.  later  afford  evidence  of  the  exist- 
ence of  a  belief  among  Catholics  that  the  time  was  favorable 
for  reaching  an  agreement  with  the  state  authorities  in  respect 
to  the  public  support  of  Catholic  schools ;  and  in  the  letter  of 
the  Holy  Father  to  the  Episcopate  of  the  Province  of  New 
York,  the  previous  year,  the  same  opinion  appears :  "Hisce 
autem  perspectis,  passurum  esse  neminem  istic  putamus,  ut 
catholici  parentes  cogantur  ea  condere  tuerique  gymnasia  et 
scholas  quibus  uti  nequeant  ad  filios  suos  instituendos." — Cf. 
Amer.  Eccl.  Rev.,  July,  1892,  p.  66. 


260  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

When  the  National  Educational  Association 
met  at  St.  Paul  in  the  summer  of  1890,  Arch- 
bishop Ireland,  in  an  eloquent  address,  presented 
to  the  large  and  representative  body  of  non- 
Catholic  educators  in  attendance  the  claims  of 
Catholics  to  state  support  for  their  schools. 
While  firmly  standing  for  the  traditional  Catho- 
lic doctrine  that  the  education  of  the  child  be- 
longs primarily  to  the  parent,  and  not  to  the 
state,  he  frankly  conceded  to  the  state,  as  an 
agent,  the  right  and  duty  of  imparting  instruc- 
tion, as  well  as  the  power  of  compulsory  edu- 
cation. Pointing  out  that  the  exclusion  of  re- 
ligion from  the  school-room  must  lead  to  relig- 
ious indifference  as  a  creed  in  maturer  years,  and 
arguing  that  the  interests  of  the  Republic,  no 
less  than  the  preservation  of  Christianity,  necessi- 
tated a  return  to  the  ideals  of  religious  instruc- 
tion that  obtained  in  the  earlier  period  of  our 
national  existence,  he  proposed  as  a  solution  of 
the  problem  the  adoption  of  the  denominational 
system  of  England  and  Prussia,  or,  in  lieu  of 
this,  the  compromise  arrangement  at  Pough- 
keepsie.16  It  was  evident  from  the  general  tenor 
of  the  address,  that  the  latter  plan  was  advanced 
merely  as  an  alternative,  not  as  embodying  the 
full  measure  of  justice  due  to  the  Catholic  claims. 

The  address  attracted  attention  throughout 
the  country,  and  provoked  discussion.  In  the 
Fall  of  the  following  year,  the  schools  at  Fari- 
bault  and  Stillwater,  by  an  arrangement  between 
the  pastors  and  the  school  boards,  were  placed 
under  the  control  of  the  latter  during  the  regular 
18  Ann.  Report  of  the  N.  E.  A.,  1890,  p.  185. 


The  Faribault  Plan  261 

school  hours,  and  the  Sisters  listed  on  the  pay- 
roll as  public  school  teachers.  There  was  no 
formal  written  agreement  at  either  Faribault  or 
Stillwater,  but  simply  a  tacit  understanding;  and 
the  arrangement  at  both  places  was  the  same  in 
substance  as  that  at  Poughkeepsie.  The  follow- 
ing is  an  authoritative  description  of  the  practical 
provisions  of  the  plan: 

"The  schools  are  leased  to  the  State  authori- 
ties for  one  year,  the  contract  being  renewable  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  two  parties.  The  same  teach- 
ers (Religious  of  St.  Dominic)  are  retained. 
After  hearing  mass  in  the  parish  church,  the 
children  are  marched  to  school.  At  3  130  P.M., 
at  the  close  of  the  school  hours,  the  pupils  are 
instructed  in  their  catechism  for  an  hour,  and 
then  dismissed.  No  text-books  to  which  the 
Archbishop  objects  are  retained.  Instead  of  re- 
ceiving a  precarious  and  small  compensation 
from  the  parents,  the  teachers  now  receive  a 
salary  of  $50  a  month  each  from  the  school 
authorities.  The  teachers  as  well  as  the  pupils 
are  subject  to  an  examination  by  the  school 
board,  and  this  arrangement  has  benefitted  both 
teachers  and  pupils.  The  schools  are  now  more 
numerously  attended  than  before."  17 

In  his  address  before  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association  at  St.  Paul,  Archbishop  Ire- 
land had,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  advocated  the 

17  Civilta  Cattolica,  1892,  I,  p.  756.  This  statement  is  taken 
from  a  letter  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  to  the  Rt.  Rev.  D.  J.  O'Con- 
nell,  Rector  of  the  Amer.  College,  Rome,  and  represents  the 
description  of  the  Faribault  plan  made  by  Archbishop  Ireland 
to  the  Archbishops  at  their  meeting  in  St.  Louis,  the  preceding 
December. 


262  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

arrangement  simply  as  a  tentative  working  agree- 
ment between  the  authorities  of  church  and  state. 
Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  the  plan,  this 
aspect  of  it  was  soon  lost  sight  of  by  both  Catho- 
lics and  non-Catholics.  True,  it  would  have  been 
opposed  by  some,  in  any  case,  even  as  a  tentative 
arrangement.  From  its  very  inception  there  were 
Catholics  who  strongly  opposed  it.  Yet  the 
arrangement  at  Poughkeepsie  was  practically  the 
same.  The  latter  was  well  known.  It  had  stood 
for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  had  had  the  cordial 
approval  of  Cardinal  McCloskey.  Looked  upon 
as  a  tentative  plan  to  solve  the  "school  question," 
it  had  aroused  no  general  opposition.  And  prac- 
tically the  same  arrangement  existed  at  other 
places.  The  Faribault  plan  would  probably  have 
met  with  no  great  opposition,  while  exerting  a 
far-reaching  practical  influence,  had  it  not  been 
drawn  into  the  vortex  of  the  exciting  educational 
controversy  that  was  going  on  at  the  time. 

Friends  of  the  Faribault  and  Poughkeepsie 
agreements  became  the  defenders  of  Dr.  Bou- 
quillon's  views,  in  whole  or  in  part.  The  opposi- 
tion, on  the  other  hand,  regarded  his  pamphlet 
as  an  attempt  to  justify,  on  the  basis  of  Catholic 
educational  principles,  these  complicated  compro- 
mise arrangements,  and  to  pave  the  way  for  their 
universal  acceptance,  with  the  replacement  of  the 
parochial  school  system  altogether.18  The  "  Fari- 
bault Plan,"  in  fact,  was  made  a  party  shibboleth. 
The  matter  was  carried  to  Rome,  and  although 

18  See  the  literature  of  the  Bouquillon  Controversy,  referred 
to  in  the  preceding  chapter,  especially  Father  Conway's  book- 
let, "The  Parent  First." 


The  Faribault  Plan  263 

there  was  strong  opposition,  the  arrangement  was 
nevertheless  approved  as  allowable  under  the  par- 
ticular circumstances,  by  the  following  decision 
of  the  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda,  April 
21,  1892: 

"The  Decrees  of  the  Baltimore  Councils  in 
respect  to  parochial  schools  remaining  in  full 
force,  the  agreement  entered  into  by  Archbishop 
Ireland  relative  to  the  schools  of  Faribault  and 
Stillwater,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  may 
be  tolerated."  19 

The  decision,  which  came  to  be  known,  from 
its  decisive  terms,  as  the  Tolerari  Potest,  was 
accompanied  by  a  letter  of  Cardinal  Ledo- 
chowski,  Prefect  of  the  Propaganda,  which,  re- 
calling the  decrees  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council 
as  to  be  firmly  adhered  to,  made  it  plain  that  the 
favorable  reply  was  given  only  for  particular 
cases  and  in  view  of  special  circumstances.20  This 
was  likewise  the  tenor  of  a  letter  addressed  soon 
afterwards,  on  May  3,  to  all  the  American 
bishops,  by  the  same  Congregation.21  Neverthe- 
less, the  Faribault  decision,  instead  of  helping  to 
allay  the  school  controversy,  proved  to  be  only 
so  much  fresh  material  for  it  to  feed  upon.  Each 
party  sought  to  interpret  it  in  a  sense  favorable 

19  The  original  text  of  this  famous  decision,  the  exact  mean- 
ing of  which  became  such  a  subject  of  dispute,  was  as  follows : 
"Firmis  in  suo  robore  manentibus  Decretis  Conciliorum  Balti- 
morensium  supra  scholas  parochiales,  compositio  inita  a  R.  P. 
D.   Archiepiscopo   Ireland   relate  ad   scholas   de  Faribault  et 
Stillwater,  perpensis  omnibus  circumstantiis,  tolerari  potest." 
— Amer.  Eccl.  Rev.,  Supp.,  June  2,  1892. 

20  Ib.,  p.  12. 

"  Ib.,  p.  13  seq. 


264  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

to  its  own  views.  Even  members  of  the  hierarchy 
feared  that  the  Holy  See,  in  formulating  the  de- 
cision, was  not  fully  informed  of  all  the  circum- 
stances, or  of  the  effect  it  would  have  upon  the 
parochial  schools.  In  reply  to  a  joint  letter  of 
the  Archbishop  and  five  of  the  bishops  of  the 
New  York  Province,  in  which  this  fear  was 
voiced,  the  Holy  Father,  on  May  23,  explained 
the  reasons  upon  which  the  decision  was  based, 
and,  after  showing  that  all  the  circumstances  had 
been  carefully  considered,  determined  more 
clearly  the  legal  force  and  meaning  of  the  de- 
cision, with  reference  to  the  school  legislation  of 
the  Baltimore  Councils,  in  declaring  that,  "as  in 
the  case  of  all  general  laws,  if  any  special  or 
unexpected  circumstances  arise,  equity  suggests 
that  an  arrangement  departing  somewhat  from 
the  letter  of  the  law  may  be  tolerated" ;  and  that 
it  was  felt  that  the  case  in  question  was  to  be 
decided  "with  moderation  and  prudence,  rather 
than  by  the  rigor  of  the  law." 

The  result  of  the  Bouquillon  controversy  was, 
however,  fatal  to  the  practical  success  of  the 
Faribault  plan.  Catholic  sentiment  was  shown 
to  be  divided  on  the  question.  The  attention  of 
non-Catholics  was  directed  to  it,  and  an  attitude 
of  distrust  and  apprehension  was  engendered  in 
the  non-Catholic  mind,  which  gradually  changed 
into  open  hostility.  After  a  couple  of  years, 
the  arrangement  was  voluntarily  discontinued  in 
the  schools  of  Faribault  and  Stillwater  by  the 
Catholic  authorities.  But  practically  the  same 
arrangement  was  entered  into  by  school  boards 
22  Amer.  Eccl.  Rev.,  July,  1892,  p.  65. 


End  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Arrangement         265 

and  Catholic  pastors,  acting  under  the  advice  of 
Archbishop  Ireland,  in  other  places  in  Minnesota. 
It  was  thought  best  to  confine  the  arrangement 
to  places  where  Catholics  constituted  the  great 
majority  of  the  population.  In  such,  the  plan 
has  been  carried  out  successfully,  and  without 
opposition  on  the  part  of  non-Catholics.  There 
are  perhaps  a  dozen  places  in  Minnesota  where 
the  Faribault  Plan  is  in  successful  operation 
today.  In  other  Western  States  the  same  system 
exists  here  and  there,  in  small  towns  and  country 
districts. 

END  OF  THE  POUGHKEEPSIE  ARRANGEMENT 

Entered  into  with  the  express  approbation  of 
Archbishop  McCloskey,  the  arrangement  at 
Poughkeepsie  remained  unaffected  in  any  prac- 
tical way  by  the  controversy  which  convulsed 
Catholic  educational  thought  during  the  period 
we  have  been  considering.  Agreements  similar 
to  that  at  Poughkeepsie  were,  as  has  been  shown, 
made  with  the  school  authorities  at  other  places 
in  the  same  State.  After  the  Bouquillon  contro- 
versy, however,  and  the  hostile  attitude  assumed 
by  so  many  Catholics  towards  the  Faribault  plan, 
there  could  be  little  likelihood  of  such  agree- 
ments becoming  common  or  frequent,  even  if 
non-Catholic  sentiment  could  be  relied  upon. 
James  A.  MacMaster,  editor  of  the  Freeman's 
Journal,  had,  long  before,  unsparingly  assailed 
the  Poughkeepsie  Plan,  and  since  then  others  had 
joined  in  the  attack.23  Leading  Catholics  had  thus 

23  Evidence   of   the   influence  of   MacMaster's   attacks   was 


266  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

become  distrustful  of  the  wisdom  of  the  com- 
promise. 

There  was  a  growing  hostility,  too,  on  the 
part  of  non-Catholics.  The  Forum  for  March, 
1889,  contained  a  bitter  attack  upon  the  arrange- 
ment, by  a  Protestant  minister,  which  did  much 
to  direct  public  attention  to  it,  and  to  arouse  anti- 
Catholic  prejudice.  Nevertheless,  the  agreement 
with  the  Poughkeepsie  authorities  continued  prac- 
tically undisturbed,  until  the  advent  of  Charles 
R.  Skinner  to  the  Superintendency  of  Public  In- 
struction of  the  State.  Superintendent  Draper 
had,  in  1887,  determined  against  the  right  of 
boards  of  education  to  employ  teachers  in  the 
public  schools  wearing  a  garb  or  dress  distinctive 
of  any  religious  denomination.24  Superintendent 
Skinner  was  personally  opposed  to  the  Pough- 
keepsie plan,  regarding  it  as  "unwise  as  a  matter 
of  school  policy,  and  a  violation  of  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  the  constitution."  25  In  a  lengthy  de- 
cision, rendered  December  23,  1898,  in  which 
the  history  of  the  agreement  was  reviewed,  he 
ordered  its  discontinuance  by  the  Poughkeepsie 
board.  The  decision  was  based  upon  two  specific 
grounds:  the  wearing  of  the  religious  garb  by 
the  Sisters  during  school  hours,  and  the  perma- 
nent renting  of  buildings  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
ducting public  schools.26  On  January  4,  1899, 

shown,  probably,  when  Mgr.  Roncetti,  who  brought  the  biretta 
to  Cardinal  McCloskey,  in  1875,  inquired  into  the  Pough- 
keepsie arrangement,  by  direction  of  the  Congregation  of  the 
Propaganda. 

24  Quoted  in  Supt.   Skinner's  decision. 

25  Decision. 

28  Copy  of  Decision,  communicated  by  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Shea- 
han,  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Poughkeepsie.    The  super- 


Lima  School  Case  267 

the  arrangement  between  the  Poughkeepsie 
board  and  St.  Peter's  Church  was,  in  accordance 
with  the  decision,  terminated. 

The  continued  friendly  attitude  of  the  local 
authorities  at  Poughkeepsie  was  shown  by  the 
fact  that,  when  the  boys'  school  in  St.  Peter's 
Parish  was  discontinued,  in  consequence  of  the 
decision,  they  rented  the  building  for  a  public 
school,  at  a  rental  of  $1,000  a  year.27  The 
burden  that  had  been  lifted  so  long  from  the 
parish  by  the  arrangement  was  also  evidenced 
by  the  expense-account  of  the  girls'  school  the 
following  year — $1800  being  paid  for  Sisters' 
salaries,  and  upwards  of  the  same  sum  for  other 
school  items.28 


A  similar  decision  was  rendered  by  Superin- 
tendent Skinner  in  the  Lima  School  Case,  in 
1902,  the  agreement  at  Lima  having  been  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  that  at  Poughkeepsie  and 
begun  about  the  same  time.  The  history  of  this 
case  has  a  special  interest,  both  from  its  peculiar 
circumstances  and  from  the  fact  that  it  was 

intendent  held  that  the  school  law  of  the  State  forbade  the 
renting  of  buildings  for  school  purposes,  except  for  tempo- 
rary emergencies.  For  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Illinois,  in  1887,  in  the  case  of  an  arrangement  similar  to  that 
at  Poughkeepsie,  cf.  Amer.  Cath.  Quarterly  Review,  Vol. 
XXX,  p.  527. 

"  Records  of  St.  Peter's  Parish. 

88  Ib.  During  the  year  1909,  the  expenses  of  the  two  schools 
in  the  parish  amounted  to  $5776.44,  there  being  642  pupils  in 
the  eight  grades.  The  boys'  school  was  reopened  in  1904,  and 
is  now  taught  by  the  Marist  Brothers.  The  Sisters  of  Charity 
have  continued  in  charge  of  the  girls'  school. 


268  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

brought  before  the  highest  court  of  the  State. 
Although  the  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  school 
district  were  non-Catholics,  they  voted  for  the 
continuance  of  the  Sisters,  even  after  the  Super- 
intendent's decision.29  It  was  the  purpose  of  the 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Simon  Fitzsimons,  not  so  much 
to  secure  a  continuance  of  the  school  arrange- 
ment as  to  obtain  an  authoritative  judicial  decision 
upon  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  most  vital 
point  involved  in  the  Superintendent's  decision, 
viz.,  the  right  to  wear  the  religious  garb.30  The 
Appellate  Division  Court  rendered  its  decision 
in  November,  1905,  sustaining  Superintendents 
Draper  and  Skinner  in  their  condemnation  of 
the  garb.  The  decision  was  re-affirmed  by  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  the  highest  tribunal  in  the 
State,  April  17,  1906,  the  court  holding  that 
the  commissioner  of  education  had  power,  under 
the  laws,  to  establish  reasonable  regulations  for 
the  management  of  the  common  schools,  and  that 
the  regulation  prohibiting  teachers  from  wearing 
a  distinctively  religious  garb  while  teaching  was 
not  unreasonable.31  The  decision,  however,  did 

29  Freeman's  Journal,  Mar.  3,  1906. 

80  Letter  of  Father  Fitzsimons  to  author,  May  12,  1910. 

81  For  these  decisions,  see  N.  Y.  Appellate  Division  Reports, 
109,  p.  361,  O'Connor  vs.  Hendrick ;    and  N.  Y.  Reports,  184, 
Court  of  Appeals,  p.  421.     See  also  letters  of  Fr.  Fitzsimons 
to  Freeman's  Journal,  Feb.  24,  and  Mar.  3,  1906;    also,  Cath. 
World,  Vol.  92,  p.  795. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  Gallitzin  School 
case,  in  1894,  decided  that  it  was  not  unconstitutional  to 
employ  Sisters  to  teach  in  the  public  schools,  while  wearing 
their  religious  garb,  the  State  not  having  as  yet  legislated 
against  it.  But  the  following  year  the  legislature  enacted 
a  statute  prohibiting  the  wearing  of  a  distinctive  religious 
garb  by  teachers  in  the  public  schools.  In  1909,  the  Superior 
Court  at  Philadelphia  sustained  the  constitutionality  of  this 


Voluntary  Religious  Instruction  During  School  Hours  269 

not  deal  with  the  question  of  right  in  the  abstract. 
It  dealt  with  a  concrete  case.  A  superintendent 
of  schools  less  unfavorably  inclined  towards 
Catholic  schools  might  legally,  perhaps,  allow 
the  wearing  of  the  religious  garb,  even  after  the 
decision. 


VOLUNTARY  RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  DURING 
SCHOOL     HOURS 

The  second  of  the  two  general  plans  referred 
to  for  the  securing  of  public  support  for  Catholic 
schools,  without  a  violation  of  the  laws  which 
prohibit  appropriation  of  the  public  moneys  to 
"sectarian"  schools  or  for  "sectarian"  teaching, 
or  a  disturbance  of  that  apparently  fixed  and  per- 
manent public  sentiment  lying  back  of  the  laws, 
is  simply  to  exclude  religious  instruction  from  the 
curriculum  of  studies  for  which,  and  for  which 
alone,  the  teacher  is  to  be  paid.32  In  the  Pastoral 
Letter  issued  by  the  Third  Provincial  Council  of 
Cincinnati,  in  1861,  the  plan  was  outlined  in 
brief  as  follows: 

"In  a  country  so  divided  in  sentiment  as  ours  is 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  the  only  system  which 
would  be  fair  and  equitable  to  all,  would  be  that 
which  would  make  education,  like  religion  and 
like  all  other  important  pursuits,  entirely  free; 

law  in  the  case  of  a  teacher  who  wore  the  Mennonite  garb, 
reversing  the  judgment  of  the  lower  court.  The  decision  of 
the  Superior  Court  was  confirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  State,  in  a  decision  handed  down  July  i,  1910. — Phila. 
Ledger,  July  2,  1910.  For  the  Gallitzin  case,  see  164  Penn. 
State  Reports,  p.  629  seq. 
32  Cf.  p.  252. 


270  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

and  if  taxes  are  collected  from  all  for  its  encour- 
agement and  support,  to  apportion  the  amount 
of  these  taxes  fairly  among  the  scholars  taught 
certain  branches  up  to  a  certain  standard,  no  mat- 
ter under  what  religious  or  other  auspices.  This 
system  would  elicit  educational  industry  and 
talent,  by  stimulating  competition,  and  we  have 
not  a  doubt  that  it  would  lessen  the  cost  of  edu- 
cation, greatly  extend  its  blessings,  and  render 
it  both  sounder  and  more  widely  diffused.  It 
would  satisfy  all  classes,  and  it  would  render  the 
schools  really  public  and  common — which  they 
certainly  are  not  at  present  except  in  name."  33 

This  plan  did  not  originate  with  the  Third  Pro- 
vincial Council  of  Cincinnati.  It  had  been  pro- 
posed by  Bishop  Hughes  in  his  great  speech 
before  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  New  York 
City,  in  the  year  i84O.34  Even  before  the  days 
of  Bishop  Hughes,  the  idea  had  been  put  in  prac- 
tice through  agreements  entered  into  in  many 
places  between  the  representatives  of  the  various 
religious  denominations  and  the  local  representa- 
tives of  the  state.  At  Lowell,  Mass.,  Catholic 
schools  were,  for  many  years,  supported  out  of 
the  public  funds,  under  an  agreement  which  was 
based  upon  this  principle.35  It  was,  in  fact,  for 
a  considerable  period,  as  has  been  noted,  the 
basis  of  a  commonly  existing  arrangement. 

83  Acta  et  Dccreta  Qtiatuor  Cone.  Provin.  Cincinnat.  1855-1882, 
p.  148.  The  Pastoral  Letter  quoted  from  was  written  by 
Bishop  Martin  John  Spalding,  subsequent!}'  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore.  For  his  views  on  education,  cf.  Life  of  Archbishop 
Spalding.  pp.  200-215. 

"Works  of  Bishop  Hughes,  Vol.  I,  pp.  69,  87,  106.  Cf.  also, 
Cath.  School  System  in  U.  S.,  pp.  366,  368. 

M  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  286. 


Voluntary  Religious  Instruction  During  School  Hours  271 

Agreements  based  upon  this  same  principle  have 
continued  to  be  made  here  and  there  down  to  our 
own  days.  In  the  State  of  New  York,  at  the 
present  time,  Catholic  secondary  schools  which 
are  recognized  by  the  Board  of  Regents,  in  com- 
mon with  other  secondary  schools,  receive  two 
and  a  half  cents  per  day  for  actual  attendance  of 
each  pupil  holding  an  elementary  certificate.  The 
admission  of  pupils  of  the  parish  schools  to  the 
manual  training  classes  of  the  public  schools,  as 
is  done  in  a  number  of  States  at  present,  with 
the  sanction  of  the  courts,  may  also,  perhaps,  be 
regarded  as  a  partial  recognition  of  the  same 
principle.  This  plan  of  Voluntary  Religious 
Instruction  has  been  frequently  referred  to,  and 
often  dealt  with  at  length,  in  Catholic  discussion 
of  the  school  question  in  the  United  States.30 

In  his  address  before  the  National  Educational 
Association  at  St.  Paul,  Archbishop  Ireland 
pointed  out  that  the  plan  involves  no  more  than 
the  adoption  of  the  principle  which  is  made  the 
basis  of  the  public  support  of  the  denominational 
school  in  England: 

"I  would  permeate  the  regular  state  school 
with  the  religion  of  the  majority  of  the  children 
of  the  land,  be  it  as  Protestant  as  Protestantism 
can  be,  and  I  would,  as  they  do  in  England,  pay 
for  the  secular  instruction  given  in  denomina- 
tional schools,  according  to  results;  that  is,  each 
pupil  passing  the  examination  before  state 
officials,  and  in  full  accordance  with  the  state 
program,  would  secure  to  his  school  the  cost  of 

38  Cf.  references  to  the  literature  of  the  subject  in  preceding 
chapter. 


272  State-Supported  Catholic  Schools 

the  tuition  of  a  pupil  in  the  state  school.  This 
is  not  paying  for  the  religious  instruction  given 
to  the  pupil,  but  for  the  secular  instruction  de- 
manded by  the  state,  and  given  to  the  pupil  as 
thoroughly  as  he  could  have  received  it  in  the 
state  school."  37 

This  plan  was  endorsed  by  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Catholic  Societies,  at  its  fifth  national 
convention,  held  at  Buffalo,  in  1906.  The  text 
of  the  resolution  adopted  was  as  follows: 

"Convinced  that  we  are  not  called  upon  to 
suggest  plans  for  the  various  non-Catholic 
denominations,  we  propose  this  solution  of  the 
school-fund  problem  as  satisfactory  to  the  Catho- 
lic body: 

First,  let  no  public  moneys  be  paid  out  for 
religious  instruction  in  any  school;  secondly,  let 
the  educational  per  capita  tax  be  disbursed  for  re- 
sults in  purely  secular  studies  only  in  our  Catholic 
schools,  our  teachers  receiving  their  salaries  as 
other  teachers  receive  theirs;  thirdly,  to  obtain 
these  results  let  our  schools  be  submitted  to  state 
or  city  examinations.  For  in  this  way  will  the 
great  principle  of  our  government  be  preserved: 
'No  public  moneys  for  sectarian  purposes.'  ' 

Although  this  plan  has  been  successfully  tried, 
even  in  States  that  have  constitutional  or  legal 
provisions  against  the  appropriation  of  public 
moneys  for  so-called  "sectarian  instruction,"  its 
application,  for  many  years  past  at  least,  has  been 

87  Addresses  and  Proceedings  of  the  N.  E.  A.,  1890,  p.  184. 

38  Cath.  Standard  and  Times,  Aug.  25,  1906.  Cf.  also.  The 
Christian  School — Pastoral  Letter  of  Rt.  Rev.  Jas.  A.  McFaul, 
p.  29. 


Voluntary  Religious  Instruction  During  School  Hours  273 

merely  local,  if  the  arrangement  in  the  State  of 
New  York  above  alluded  to  be  excepted;  and 
its  successful  continuance  has,  with  this  exception, 
been  entirely  dependent  upon  local  sentiment  and 
conditions.  Its  constitutionality  has  never  been 
brought  to  a  satisfactory  test.  This  would,  of 
course,  be  done,  if  there  was  question  of  its  appli- 
cation to  the  elementary  schools  on  a  larger  scale. 
The  constitutions  of  twenty-four  States  now  con- 
tain provisions  proscribing  the  payment  of  moneys 
for  the  support  of  "sectarian"  schools.39  But  even 
if  the  plan  were  to  be  declared  unconstitutional 
in  some  of  the  States,  it  would  still  remain  the 
most  equitable  provision  possible  for  Catholic 
school  rights  under  our  government.  And  the 
"school  question,"  doubtless,  would  likewise  still 
remain,  for  the  power  that  makes  laws  and  con- 
stitutions is  also  able  to  remake  them. 

39  Ed.  Rev.,  v.  42,  p.  131. 


CHAPTER    XI 

THE  ECONOMIC  SIDE  OF  THE  SCHOOL  QUESTION 
GENERAL     METHODS     OF     SUPPORT 

THE  parish  priest  is  one  of  the  three  con- 
trolling factors  in  the  Catholic  school  system.  By 
reason  of  his  own  position  as  well  as  the  force 
of  circumstances,  he  is  charged  with  the  respon- 
sibility of  raising  the  money  to  build  and  to  sup- 
port the  school.  It  is  generally  a  heavy  responsi- 
bility. The  ordinary  parish  is  not  W2ll-to-do.  It 
is  in  debt  and  struggling.  The  only  reliable 
source  of  revenue  is  that  of  the  church  con- 
tributions. To  keep  up  the  church  and  its  equip- 
ment, and  to  pay  off  the  debt,  with  the  prospect, 
perhaps,  of  a  necessary  enlargement  of  the  church 
in  the  future,  or  its  replacement  by  a  larger  and 
finer  structure, — this  involves  a  problem  which 
is  difficult  and  persistent  enough,  in  most  cases, 
to  tax  the  energies  of  the  ablest  and  most  zealous 
priest. 

The  support  of  the  school  would  appear,  at 
first  sight,  to  involve  a  reduplication  of  the  prob- 
lem. Experience  shows,  however,  that  this  is  not 
the  case.  The  pioneer  bishops  and  priests,  with 
a  far-seeing  wisdom,  made  church  and  school 
practically  one,  in  a  religious  and  also  a  financial 
way.  No  one  could  be  a  good  Catholic  who  did 

274. 


General  Methods  of  Support  275 

not  help  to  support  both  church  and  school;  and, 
whatever  the  method  adopted  for  the  school's 
support,  there  was  always  the  parish  treasury  to 
fall  back  on.  The  result  has  been  that,  generally 
speaking,  wherever  Catholics  have  been  found 
sufficiently  numerous  to  support  a  school,  the  pas- 
tor has  been  able  to  secure  money  enough  to  build 
and  to  maintain  it. 

But  although  the  support  of  the  school  does 
not  amount  to  a  reduplication  of  the  problem 
of  the  support  of  the  church,  it  has,  never- 
theless, been  always  felt  to  be  a  real  problem, 
and  various  methods  have  been  tried  in  order  to 
lessen  its  difficulties.  It  may  be  said,  in  general, 
that  the  money  for  the  support  of  the  school  has 
been  obtained  in  one  of  three  ways, — tuition- 
fees,  direct  parish  support,  or  endowment.  The 
employment  of  these  three  methods  dates  back 
to  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  the  parish 
school  system  in  this  country.  Sometimes  all 
three  have  been  employed  in  the  case  of  the  same 
school,  part  of  the  money  being  derived  from 
endowments,  part  from  tuition-fees,  and  the  rest 
supplied  from  the  general  parish  treasury. 

The  tuition-fee  method  has  the  apparent 
advantage  of  placing  the  expense  of  the  school 
upon  those  who  are  directly  benefitted  by  it,  and 
who  might  therefore  be  supposed  to  be  the  most 
willing  to  bear  the  burden.  This  method  has  been 
largely  used  from  the  beginning.  During  the 
Immigration  Period,  and  for  long  afterward,  it 
was  the  most  common  way  of  providing  for  the 
support  of  the  school.  It  is  still  widely  in  use, 
the  parents  paying  the  monthly  tuition-fee, 


276       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

usually  from  fifty  cents  to  a  dollar,  to  the 
head  of  the  school.  Classes  are  generally  large, 
and  a  class  of  fifty  pupils  would  thus,  with 
fifty  cents  from  each,  bring  in  just  enough  to  pay 
the  Sister's  salary  of  twenty-five  dollars  per 
month.  If  less  is  brought  in  than  what  is  needed 
to  pay  the  teachers'  salaries,  the  balance  is  sup- 
plied from  the  parish  treasury.  The  system  is 
simple  enough,  and  financially  efficient;  yet  it 
has  obvious  disadvantages.  One  of  these  is  that 
it  tends  to  throw  the  burden  of  the  support  of 
the  school  upon  the  poor.  It  is  the  poor  who 
have  the  largest  families.  It  is  the  well-to-do, 
on  the  other  hand,  those  who  are  best  able  to 
contribute  to  the  support  of  the  school,  who  are 
the  most  apt  to  send  their  children  elsewhere, 
and  thus  escape  their  share  of  the  burden  alto- 
gether. Another  disadvantage  comes  from  the 
fact  that  there  is,  on  the  ground,  a  formidable 
competitor  for  the  patronage  of  the  Catholic 
parent,  in  the  public  free  school.  The  necessity 
of  paying  fifty  cents  a  month  for  the  education  of 
his  child,  comes  home  to  many  a  hard-working 
Catholic  parent  as  a  real  and  cogent  argument 
against  the  Catholic  school. 

For  these  reasons  the  Third  Plenary  Council 
urged  upon  pastors  the  creation  of  free  schools, 
and  expressed  the  hope  that  this  might  be 
effected  either  directly  through  endowments  from 
the  wealthy,  or  by  means  of  associations  of  lay- 
men, organized  for  the  express  purpose  of  raising 
money  for  the  support  of  the  schools.  In  sug- 
gesting such  associations  the  Council  adopted  a 
plan  which  had  been  devised  by  Bishop  Neu- 


General  Methods  of  Support  277 

mann,  of  Philadelphia,  some  thirty  years  before. 
But  Catholic  free  schools  had  existed  even  long 
before  the  days  of  Bishop  Neumann.  There 
were  schools  in  Philadelphia  before  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century  which  required  no 
tuition-fees,  but  which  were  supported  directly 
or  indirectly  by  the  parish.  The  term  "  free 
school "  has  had  various  meanings  through- 
out our  educational  history.  Most  often,  per- 
haps, it  has  meant  a  school  free  from  tuition- 
charges,  whether  by  reason  of  endowments  or 
parish  support.  Free  schools,  supported  by  the 
parishes,  have  always  existed,  but  within  recent 
times  they  have  become  very  numerous.  The 
increasing  tendency  in  the  public-school  system  of 
late  years  to  eliminate  every  element  of  expense 
to  the  parent,  has  greatly  accelerated  the  move- 
ment toward  Catholic  free  schools.  The  change 
has  been  made  quite  generally  in  the  larger  cities, 
as  well  as  in  many  of  the  towns.  In  smaller 
places  and  in  country  districts  the  tuition-fee 
method  still  prevails.  In  many  parishes  text- 
books are  also  furnished  free.  The  change  to 
"  free  schools,"  or  schools  supported  directly 
from  the  parish  funds,  has  been  as  rapid  as  it 
has  been  noiseless,  a  fact  which  shows  how  firmly 
the  traditional  view  of  the  identity  of  the  interests 
of  church  and  school  is  held  by  the  Catholic  mind. 
Endowed  schools  have  likewise  existed  all 
along,  but  within  the  last  decade  or  so  there  has 
arisen  a  notable  tendency  toward  more  system- 
atic efforts  to  secure  endowment.  In  some 
instances  sufficient  endowment-funds  have  been 
donated  by  wealthy  Catholics  to  provide  for  the 


278       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

entire  support  of  a  school;  more  often,  however, 
the  endowment  does  not  reach  so  far  as  this, 
and  part  of  the  school's  expenses  has  to  be  met 
by  one  of  the  other  methods  outlined  above.  The 
most  popular  method  employed  for  the  securing 
of  school  endowments  is  that  of  scholarships  or 
burses.  At  the  St.  Agnes'  Parish  School,  New 
York,  for  instance,  a  gift  of  $500  will  found  a 
scholarship,  and  provide  for  the  free  schooling  of 
a  pupil,  in  perpetiium.  Under  the  able  admin- 
istration of  the  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  Henry  A. 
Brann,  a  large  number  of  scholarships  have  been 
secured  for  this  school,  in  the  form  of  personal 
memorial  endowments.  Other  schools  in  New 
York  and  elsewhere  have  similar  endowments. 
The  amount  of  the  scholarship  may  vary,  being 
generally  less  in  smaller  places,  where  the  cost  of 
living  and  schooling  is  correspondingly  lower. 
A  plan  involving  a  larger  endowment-unit  is 
followed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  James  P.  Sin- 
nott,  Pastor  of  St.  Charles'  Church,  Philadelphia. 
The  unit  here  is  a  fund  the  interest  from  which 
is  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  salary  of  a  teacher, 
and  the  name  of  the  donor  of  such  a  fund  is 
placed  on  a  brass  tablet,  which  is  attached  to 
the  door  of  a  class-room.  While  many  schools 
may  in  time  become  completely  endowed  in 
these  ways,  and  part  of  the  burden  of  school 
support  may  be  lifted  from  many  others,  it  is 
hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  greater  number  of 
Catholic  parish  schools  can  ever  be  made  alto- 
gether free.  The  past  history  of  the  schools, 
at  any  rate,  offers  no  warrant  for  any  such  expec- 
tation. It  is  far  more  likely  that  the  schools  will 


Teachers'  Salaries  279 

have  to  continue  to  rely  upon  the  parishes  for 
their  support. 

With  this  survey  of  the  methods  most  com- 
monly employed  for  the  support  of  the  schools, 
the  way  is  now  clear  for  the  consideration  of 
those  larger  elements  in  the  problem  of  school 
support  which  have  special  historical  as  well  as 
practical  importance.  These  may  be  classed 
under  the  titles  of  teachers'  salaries,  the  finan- 
cial value  of  the  parish  schools  to  the  state,  and 
their  actual  cost. 

TEACHERS'  SALARIES 

The  number  of  lay  teachers  engaged  in  parish 
schools  is  relatively  small.  In  some  of  the  larger 
dioceses  they  constitute  only  about  one-thirtieth 
of  the  whole  number  of  teachers.  In  the  Arch- 
diocese of  New  York,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
number  nearly  one-half  as  many  as  the  religious 
teachers.1  The  religious  teacher  is  generally 
preferred,  but  when  a  sufficient  number  of  re- 
ligious can  not  be  had,  lay  teachers  become  a 
necessity.  The  large  parish  schools  of  New 
York,  Chicago,  and  other  great  cities  have  grown 
so  fast  that  the  religious  orders  have  been  unable 
to  supply  them  with  teachers  enough,  and  as  a 
result  lay  teachers  are  sometimes  found  out- 
numbering the  religious  in  a  school.  But 
throughout  the  country  as  a  whole,  lay  teachers 
probably  form  only  from  one-tenth  to  one-fif- 
teenth of  the  entire  number  of  parish-school 

1  Sixth  Annual  Rep.  of  the  Supts.  of  Cath.  Schools  for  the 
Archd.  of  N.  Y. 


a8o       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

teachers.  Their  salaries  are  usually  not  much 
above  those  of  religious  employed  in  the  same 
grade  and  kind  of  teaching. 

During  the  Immigration  Period  the  salaries 
of  Sisters  and  Brothers  were  much  lower  than 
they  are  at  present.  It  was  not  uncommon,  as 
late  as  even  a  couple  of  decades  ago,  to  find 
Sisters  teaching  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  dol- 
lars a  year.  There  has  been  an  upward  move- 
ment in  the  salaries  of  religious  teachers  which 
has,  to  some  extent,  accompanied  the  rise  in  pub- 
lic-school salaries.  The  salary  most  commonly 
received  by  Sisters  engaged  in  parish-school  work 
is  $20  per  month,  or  $200  per  year,  where  the 
parish  furnishes  their  dwelling-house  and  pays 
for  light,  heat,  etc.  Where  the  Sisters  provide 
their  own  dwelling-house,  and  meet  these  latter 
expenses  themselves,  the  salary  is  increased  by 
$5  per  month,  or  $50  per  year.  Within  the 
past  few  years,  owing  to  the  increased  cost  in 
living  expenses,  the  upward  movement  in  salaries 
has  been  given  a  new  impetus.  In  1909  in  the 
Archdiocese  of  New  York  the  salary  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity — the  diocesan  sisterhood — was 
raised  from  $300  to  $400.  The  Archbishop  of 
Chicago,  during  the  same  year,  fixed  the  salary 
of  Sisters  teaching  in  the  Archdiocese  at  a  min- 
imum of  $250  per  year — an  advance  of  $50, 
Several  other  dioceses  have  done  the  same.  In 
many  parishes  in  the  larger  cities  the  Sisters 
receive  $300  per  year.  Nevertheless,  there  are 
not  a  few  parishes,  especially  in  towns  and  coun- 
try places,  where  thev  receive  considerably  less 
than  $200, 


Teachers'  Salaries  281 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how,  with  such  compara- 
tively small  remuneration,  and  with  the  cost  of 
living  so  high  universally,   the  individual   estab- 
lishments or  schools  in  charge  of  religious  teach- 
ers can  save   anything  to   send  to   the   religious 
mother-house.     Yet,   something  has  to  be  saved 
and  sent.     This  is  of  imperative  necessity.     The 
mother-house   is   the   centre   of   energy,    and  the 
hope  for  the  future.      From  it  the  young  teach- 
ers come,   and  there  they  are  trained.     To  the 
mother-house  the  old  teachers  look,   as  to  their 
home,  where  they  will  be  tenderly  cared  for  when 
they  are  no  longer  able  to  teach.     The  noviti- 
ate and  normal  school,  the  infirmary  and  home 
for   the   aged,   must   be   supported,    and   to   this 
end  each  establishment  or  school  must  contribute 
its  quota.     The  amount  each  is  able  to  save  for 
this   purpose   varies,    naturally,    with   the    place. 
Some   are   able   to   save  very  little;    others   can 
send  annually  a  considerable  sum.      It  may  safely 
be  said  that  the  amount  that  each  school  sends 
annually  to  the  mother-house  rarely  falls  below 
ten    per    cent    of    the    total    of    salary    receipts, 
whilst  it  is  usually  at  least  twice  as  much  as  this. 
It  often  happens,  undoubtedly,  that  the  amount 
which   the    Sisters    receive   by   way   of    salary    is 
added  to  incidentally  by  gifts  of  varying  amount 
and  kind,   through   the  kindness   and   generosity 
of  lay  friends  in  the  parish.      But  this  is  more 
usual  in  country  parishes  and  small  places,  where 
the  salary  is  notably  below  the  common  figure. 
The  fact  should  not,  therefore,  be  taken  as  indi- 
cating that  the  common  salary  of  $250  is  ordi- 
narily increased  in  this  way  to  any  notable  extent. 


282        The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

It  is  true,  however,  that  the  remuneration 
received  for  the  teaching  of  special  branches, 
such  as  music  and  drawing,  does  increase  the 
salary-average  somewhat,  at  least  in  many 
schools.  Such  special  branches,  if  studied 
beyond  the  elementary  grades,  are  charged  for 
as  extras,  and,  where  the  school  is  large,  one 
teacher — sometimes  more  than  one — is  retained 
for  the  special  purpose  of  teaching  the  "  extras." 
In  this  case  the  teacher  receives  no  salary  from 
the  parish.  The  amount  derived  from  the 
teaching  of  the  "  extras  "  in  parish  schools  is 
difficult  to  estimate;  it  is  usually  more  than  the 
common  salary,  though  it  is  of  course  far  less 
than  these  "  extras "  bring  in  the  academies, 
where  they  constitute  one  of  the  most  important 
sources  of  revenue.  A  conservative  estimate 
would  probably  be  that,  in  a  large  school,  a 
teacher  of  the  special  branches  is  able  to  earn  at 
least  one-half  as  much  again  as  the  common 
salary.  But  this  particular  element  of  school 
revenue  does  not  enter  into  the  question  of  the 
cost  of  the  school  to  the  parish,  since  the  "extras" 
are  always  paid  for  by  the  parents  of  the  children 
who  take  them. 

Brothers  who  teach  in  the  parish  schools  gen- 
erally receive  from  $300  to  $400  per  year.  Not- 
withstanding this,  the  per  capita  saving  in  their 
schools  is  not  much,  if  any,  above  that  in  the 
schools  of  the  Sisters.  The  living  expenses  of 
women  are  not  so  high  as  those  of  men.  Nor 
do  men  understand  as  women  do  the  art  of  econ- 
omizing. 

Thus,   Catholic  teachers  do  not  receive  more 


Teachers'  Salaries  283 

than  one-half  as  much  salary  as  public-school 
teachers  engaged  in  the  same  district  and  in  the 
same  class  of  work.  In  many  cases  they  do  not 
receive  one-third  as  much.  In  the  State  of  New 
York,  for  instance,  the  average  annual  salary  of 
teachers  in  the  public  elementary  schools,  in  the 
year  1909,  was  $769.23-;  the  average  for  the 
teachers  in  the  parish  schools  was  probably 
between  $250  and  $300.  Yet  parish-school 
teachers  have  to  live,  and  they  have  also,  as  has 
been  said,  to  contribute  their  share  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  mother-establishment.  The  self- 
sacrifice  of  Catholics  in  building  up  and  support- 
ing a  separate  system  of  schools  has  been  fre- 
quently pointed  out  in  discussions  of  the  school 
question.  But  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  people  in 
the  matter  is  slight  indeed  when  compared  with 
that  of  the  teaching  Sisters  and  Brothers.  The 
brunt  of  the  heavy  burden  really  falls  upon  them. 
The  pinch  of  real  poverty  and  privation,  in  so  far 
as  anything  of  the  kind  really  results  from  the 
up-keep  of  the  parish-school  system,  is  felt  only 
by  them.  The  parish  priest  and  his  people  of 
to-day  little  feel  the  burden  of  the  schools,  as  did 
the  immigrant  priests  and  settlers  of  half  a  cen- 
tury ago.  Economically,  as  well  as  socially, 
there  have  been  vast  changes  in  the  Catholic 
body.  The  economic  condition  of  the  teachers, 
nevertheless,  has  remained  relatively  almost  un- 
affected. With  the  Sisters  and  Brothers  who  are 
engaged  in  teaching  in  the  schools,  it  is  still  a 
struggle  for  existence — a  struggle  "  to  make  ends 
meet,"  and  to  save  something  to  help  support 
2  Sixth  Annual  Rep.  Ed.  Dept.,  State  of  N.  Y.,  p.  49. 


284       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

the  home  of  their  religious  youth  and  their  declin- 
ing years.  There  is  always  present,  too,  the 
shadow  of  the  even  greater  problem  of  the 
securing  of  new  vocations  or  subjects  in  number 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  religious  organizations 
from  dwindling  away.  The  parish-school  sys- 
tem of  to-day  has  been  rendered  possible  only 
because  its  cost  has  been  far  less  than  that  of  the 
public-school  system.  The  economic  basis  upon 
which  the  parish  school  rests  is  therefore 
revealed  by  the  simple  statement  that  Catholic 
teachers  work  for  from  one-third  to  one-half  the 
salary  of  teachers  in  the  public  schools;  for,  in 
the  maintenance  of  the  school,  it  is  the  salary 
that  is  the  chief  item  of  expense. 

THE    SAVING   TO   THE    STATE. 

An  interesting  question  is  that  of  the  direct 
financial  value  of  the  Catholic  school  system  to 
the  state,  or,  in  other  words,  of  the  amount 
of  money  it  would  cost  the  state  to  replace 
the  parish-school  system,  if  all  Catholics,  in 
the  exercise  of  their  constitutional  rights,  were 
to  send  their  children  to  the  public  schools. 
This  question  has  often  been  dealt  with  by 
eminent  Catholic  educators  and  apologists. 
The  answer  has  been  sought  by  assuming,  as 
a  basis,  that  the  present  per  capita  cost  of 
public-school  education,  in  any  given  place, 
represents  what  would  also  be  the  per  cap- 
ita cost  of  educating  in  the  public  schools  the 
pupils  who  are  nowT  in  the  parish  schools  of  that 
place.  If,  for  example,  the  per  capita  cost  in  the 


The  Saving  to  the  State  285 

Catholic  schools  of  a  certain  town  is  $7,  and  the 
corresponding  cost  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
same  town  is  found  to  be  $21,  it  is  taken  for 
granted  that  it  would  cost  just  $21  for  the  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  each  pupil  now  in 
the  parish  schools,  or  just  three  times  as  much. 
But  can  this  be  safely  assumed?  The  question 
is  important,  not  only  for  ascertaining  the  amount 
which  the  parish-school  system  saves  annually  to 
the  state,  but  also  for  the  study  of  the  more 
difficult  matter  of  the  possible  economic  value  to 
Catholics  of  the  change  to  state  support. 

If  the  parish-school  system  were  to  be  taken 
over  by  the  state  intact,  and  no  distinction  of 
cost  made  between  denominational  schools  and 
public  schools,  the  assumption  would  certainly  be 
valid.  On  the  other  hand,  if  Catholics,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  constitutional  rights,  were  simply 
to  close  their  own  schools  and  send  their  children 
to  the  public  schools,  its  validity  might,  to  some 
extent,  be  called  in  question.  There  are  seats 
to  spare  in  many  public-school  class-rooms, 
Thousands  of  parish-school  pupils  could,  un- 
doubtedly, find  place  in  the  public  schools,  with- 
out any  addition  to  the  element  of  cost,  save  in 
the  matter  of  such  incidentals  as  books  and  sta- 
tionery; while  such  increase  in  numbers,  without 
additional  expense,  would  at  the  same  time  lower 
the  per  capita  cost. 

Although  the  validity  of  this  assumption  may, 
therefore,  be  questioned,  in  the  hypothesis  of 
Catholic  schools  being  closed  and  their  pupils  sent 
to  the  public  schools,  the  possible  error  from  this 
source  would  not  be  likely  to  amount  to  very 


286       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

much.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  empty 
seats  in  the  public  schools  are  chiefly  in  the  upper 
grades.  The  lower  grades  are  nearly  always 
overcrowded,  especially  in  the  larger  cities. 
Now,  the  vast  majority  of  parish-school  pupils 
are  in  the  lower  grades,  and  provision  would 
have  to  be  made  at  once  for  these  by  the  erection 
of  new  buildings  and  the  employment  of  more 
teachers.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  does  not  a  phe- 
nomenon similar  to  that  which  is  involved  in  the 
hypothesis  that  is  being  considered,  actually  take 
place  in  the  larger  cities  whenever  there  is  a 
heavy  and  unexpected  increase  in  the  school 
enrollment?  The  addition  to  the  public-school 
enrollment  in  New  York  has  sometimes  been  so 
large  as  to  approximate  the  entire  parish-school 
enrollment  there.3  Yet  no  permanent  lowering 
of  the  per  capita  cost  of  public-school  education 
has  resulted.  The  reason  of  this  lies  in  the  fact 
that,  in  the  case  of  any  large  city  school-system 
taken  as  a  whole,  the  present  attendance,  at 
least  in  the  lower  grades,  is  really  commensurate 
with  the  size  of  the  school-system  itself.  In 
other  words,  although  some  of  the  class-rooms 
may  have  spare  seats,  others  have  already  more 
pupils  than  they  can  conveniently  hold;  and  when 
the  pressure  of  the  new  and  larger  enrollment 
comes  each  fall,  the  saving  that  is  represented 
by  the  existing  empty  seats  of  certain  class-rooms 
is  about  balanced  by  the  extra  expense  caused  by 
the  overflow  of  already  full  or  crowded  rooms. 
Practically  the  same  phenomenon  would  appear, 

sCf.  Twelfth  Annual  Rep.  of  the  Supt.  of  Schools,  N.  Y. 
City,  p.  29. 


The  Saving  to  the  State  287 

so  far  at  least  as  the  lower  grades  are  concerned, 
if  all  parish-school  pupils  were  to  be  sent  to  the 
public  schools. 

With  the  reservation,  then,  that  there  would 
be  apt  to  be  some  lowering  of  the  per  capita  cost, 
at  least  for  several  years,  due  to  the  filling  of 
the  empty  seats  in  the  upper  grades,  it  may  be 
accepted  that  the  present  per  capita  cost  of  edu- 
cating pupils  in  the  public  schools  would  continue 
to  be,  approximately,  the  per  capita  cost  of  pub- 
lic-school education,  if  all  the  Catholic  children 
were  to  be  sent  to  the  public  schools. 

What  would  be,  therefore,  the  probable  cost 
of  educating  all  the  parish-school  pupils  in  the 
public  schools?  The  method  most  commonly 
employed  for  ascertaining  this  has  been  to  take 
the  cost  of  education  per  pupil  for  the  whole 
United  States,  as  given  in  the  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Education,  and  multiply  this  by  the 
total  number  of  pupils  in  the  parish  schools.  This 
method  is,  however,  open  to  two  objections. 
The  average  cost  per  pupil,  as  given  by  the  Com- 
missioner of  Education,  includes  expenditure  for 
high  schools  as  well  as  elementary  schools; 
while  the  diocesan  systems  include,  as  yet,  com- 
paratively few  high  schools.  Another  objec- 
tion is  that  the  Commissioner's  average  includes 
the  cost  of  public-school  education  in  the  south- 
ern states,  as  well  as  in  the  northern  and  western. 
Catholic  schools  are  mostly  in  the  northern  and 
western  states,  and  it  is  there  accordingly  that 
they  would  have  to  be  replaced.  The  cost  of 
public  education  is  very  low  in  most  of  the  south- 
ern states;  in  two  of  them  it  averages  less  than 


288       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

$7  annually  per  pupil.4  Hence,  the  general  aver- 
age that  is  obtained  in  this  way  cannot  be  safely 
made  use  of  in  computing  the  probable  cost  to 
the  state  of  educating  the  children  in  the  parish 
schools. 

A  more  accurate  method  was  followed  by  the 
Catholic  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Philadel- 
phia.5 This  consisted  in  ascertaining  the  average 
cost  per  pupil  in  the  public  schools  in  each  town 
of  the  Archdiocese,  and  multiplying  by  the  num- 
ber of  Catholic  pupils  in  each  place  respectively. 
The  same  method  was  employed  by -the  Catholic 
Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Boston.6  While  the 
results  obtained  are,  undoubtedly,  reliable,  so  far 
as  they  go,  the  inquiry  has  not  been  extended 
beyond  a  comparatively  limited  field. 

Until  fuller  data  appear,  the  most  trustworthy 
method  of  arriving  at  the  amount  of  the  direct 
financial  value  of  the  Catholic  schools  to  the 
state  will  probably  be  to  base  the  estimate  for  the 
entire  United  States  upon  the  ascertained  cost  of 
the  public  elementary  schools  in  some  one  State 
which  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  representative 
in  this  way.  The  State  of  New  York,  if  New 
York  City  be  excluded,  might  perhaps  be  chosen. 
It  contains  some  large  cities,  and  many  thriving 
manufacturing  towns,  and  it  is  in  such  places  that 
Catholic  schools  are  found  most  numerously. 
New  York,  furthermore,  furnishes  more  com- 
plete statistics  about  the  cost  of  education  than 

4  Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed.,  1909,  p.  1331. 

"The  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  P.  R.  McDevitt,  in  Report  for  1900- 
1901. 

"The  Rev.  Louis  S.  Walsh;  in  1908,  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Portland,  Me. ;  cf.  Sacred  Heart  Review,  Jan.  3,  1903. 


The  Saving  to  the  State  289 

other  States.  The  inquiry,  then,  being  restricted 
to  the  elementary  schools,  and  the  figures  being 
based  upon  registration,7  it  is  found  that,  in  New 
York  State,  exclusive  of  the  metropolis,  the  aver- 
age annual  cost  of  education  per  pupil  in  1909 
was  $22.50.  This  includes  teachers'  salaries,  the 
cost  of  apparatus,  books  for  school  libraries,  and 
all  other  incidental  expenses.  If  expenditures  for 
sites,  furniture,  repairs,  and  other  permanent 
improvements  be  included,  the  average  cost  per 
pupil  becomes  $24.66.8  If  this  latter  figure  be 
now  multiplied  by  1,237,251,  the  total  number  of 
pupils  enrolled  in  the  Catholic  parish  schools  of 
the  United  States  during  the  year  1 909-10, 9  the 
result  is  $30,511,010 — approximately  the  sum  it 
would  cost  the  state  annually  at  present  to  educate 
the  pupils  who  are  in  the  parish  schools. 

But  this  is,  of  course,  only  the  cost  of  main- 
tenance. Room  would  have  to  be  made  for  these 
pupils,  and  equipment  provided.  The  inquiry 
being  pushed  a  step  further  along  the  same  lines, 
it  is  found  that,  in  New  York  State,  excluding 
the  metropolis,  the  average  value  of  elementary 
schoolhouses  and  sites,  together  with  apparatus, 
library,  and  all  other  property,  is  $71.99  per  pupil 
registered.  This,  in  other  words,  represents  the 
amount  of  ground,  building,  and  equipment 
required  for  each  pupil  at  the  time  of  registration. 
For  the  whole  number  of  pupils  in  the  parish 

T  For  the  sake  of  comparison,  the  number  of  pupils  regis- 
tered is  taken  here,  because  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  parish 
schools,  as  given  in  the  Catholic  Directory,  represents  regis- 
tration rather  than  average  daily  attendance. 

8  Sixth  Annual  Rep.  of  the  Ed.  Dept,  State  of  N.  Y.,  from 
the  statistics  on  pp.  49,  94,  122,  124,  149. 

*Cath.  Directory,  1910. 


2 go       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

schools,  therefore,  the  amount  that  would  have 
to  be  expended  for  this  purpose  would  be  $89, 
069,699.  The  interest  on  this  sum  at  4  per  cent 
would  be  $3,562,788.  If  this  be  added  to  the 
above  calculated  expense  of  state  maintenance  of 
Catholic  schools,  the  total  of  $34,073,798  is 
obtained,  which  will  thus  represent  the  probable 
sum  saved  annually  to  the  state  by  the  parish- 
school  system. 

ACTUAL    COST 

No  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  compute 
accurately  the  actual  cost  of  the  parish  schools 
throughout  the  whole  country.  Diocesan  school 
reports,  with  the  exception  of  that  from  the  Arch- 
diocese of  New  York,  have  not,  as  yet,  supplied 
the  necessary  data  for  such  an  undertaking. 
Hence  it  will  not  be  possible  to  do  more  here  than 
to  offer  a  rough  estimate  of  the  actual  cost. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  salaries  of  public- 
school  teachers  are  from  two  to  three  times  as 
much  as  those  of  Catholic  teachers.  This  would 
lead  to  the  expectation  that  the  annual  cost  of 
parish-school  education  ought  not  to  prove  to  be 
more  than  from  one-third  to  one-half  that  of 
elementary  education  in  the  public  schools,  for  the 
chief  item  in  the  annual  cost  is  that  of  teachers' 
salaries.10  Furthermore,  the  expense  for  heat, 
light,  and  janitor-service  is  less  in  parish  schools 
than  in  public  schools,  for  the  general  reason  that 
such  things  cost  less  to  private  enterprise  than  to 

10  For  a  discussion  of  the  possible  economic  benefit  to  Cath- 
olics of  a  change  to  state  support,  cf.  Amer.  Eccl.  Rev., 
XLIV,  P.  53i. 


Actual  Cost  291 

the  state.  Moreover,  heat  and  light  are  often 
supplied  from  the  adjoining  church  plant,  just  as, 
in  parishes  of  moderate  size,  one  janitor  does  ser- 
vice for  both  church  and  school.  An  examina- 
tion of  such  scattered  data  as  have  been  furnished 
from  the  dioceses  confirms  the  expectation  of  a 
proportionate  lowering  of  the  cost  of  parish- 
school  education,  resulting  from  these  conditions. 

In  St.  Louis,  for  instance,  the  entire  per  capita 
cost  of  education  for  the  large  schools  of  SS. 
Peter  and  Paul's  Parish,  containing  1203  pupils, 
with  two  Brothers  of  Mary  at  a  salary  of  $375 
each,  and  twenty-three  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  at 
a  salary  of  $300  each,  was,  in  1908,  $8. 64." 
For  all  the  public  elementary  schools  of  St.  Louis, 
the  same  year,  the  per  capita  cost,  based  upon 
registration,  was  $22.76 — over  two  and  a  half 
times  as  much.12 

In  the  Archdiocese  of  New  York,  in  1909,  the 
per  capita  cost  of  maintenance,  based  upon  enroll- 
ment, and  including  salaries,  supplies  and  appa- 
ratus, heat  and  light,  repairs,  interest  and  insur- 
ance, for  all'  the  schools  of  the  Archdiocese,  was 
$n.i3.13  For  all  the  public  elementary  schools 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  the  same  year,  the 
corresponding  per  capita  cost,  based  upon  regis- 
tration, was  $28.66,"  which  is,  again,  over  two 

11  America,  May  29,  1909. 

12  Report  of  Board  of  Ed.  of  St.  Louis,  1908-9,  pp.  244,  301. 

13  Sixth   Ann.   Rep.    of   the   Rev.   Superintendents   of   Cath. 
Schools,  1909. 

14  Sixth  Ann.  Rep.  of  the  Ed.  Dept.  of  the  State  of  N.  Y., 
p.  49.    The  average  cost  per  pupil  given  in  the  report  is  $36.70. 
But  this  includes  the  cost  of  new  buildings  and  sites,  which  are 
not  included  in  the  archdiocesan  average.     The  public-school 
average  was  therefore  reduced  correspondingly.    There  is  still 
some  discrepancy,  however,  inasmuch  as  "repairs  and  furni- 


292       The  Economic  Side  of  the  School  Question 

and  a  half  times  as  much  as  the  cost  of  the  Catho- 
lic schools.  If  New  York  City  proper,  or  the 
Boroughs  of  Manhattan,  Bronx,  and  Richmond, 
be  excluded,  the  average  cost  in  the  Archdiocese 
per  pupil  is  but  slightly  reduced,  becoming 
$10.56,  instead  of  $11.13.  The  average  value 
of  school  property  per  pupil  is,  of  course,  consid- 
erably greater  in  the  metropolis  than  throughout 
the  rest  of  the  Archdiocese,  being  $156.39  in  the 
case  of  the  former,  and  $129.96  in  that  of  the 
latter.  It  would  evidently  be  unsafe,  however, 
to  make  the  property-value  per  pupil  in  the  Arch- 
diocese of  New  York  a  basis  for  the  calculation 
of  the  property-values  of  parish  schools  through- 
out the  country.  The  property-value  per  pupil 
for  all  the  dioceses  of  the  State  of  New  York 
might,  perhaps,  be  reasonably  assumed  as  a  basis 
for  such  a  calculation,  but  this  is  not  yet  available. 
What  is,  now,  the  average  actual  cost  of  Cath- 
olic parish-school  maintenance  per  pupil  through- 
out the  country?  The  amount  cannot  be  stated 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy.  At  best,  no  more 
than  a  probable  estimate  can  be  made  at  present. 
The  cost  appears  to  vary  within  almost  as  wide 
limits  as  the  cost  of  public-school  education. 
There  are  numerous  schools  in  which  the  total 
annual  per  capita  cost  of  maintenance  is  not  more 
than  $5,  while  in  the  Archdiocese  of  New  York, 
as  has  been  seen,  it  is  slightly  over  $11.  In 

ture"  arc,  in  the  state  report,  classed  with  "sites  and  build- 
ings"; and  expenditures  for  repairs  and  furniture  are  there- 
fore excluded  from  the  above  estimate  of  cost  for  the  public 
schools,  while  they  are  included  in  the  estimate  of  cost  for  the 
parish  schools.  The  estimate  taken  for  the  public  schools  is 
thus  slightly  lower  than  it  should  be. 


Actual  Cost  293 

particular  schools  in  the  large  cities  the  cost  runs 
up  to  even  a  much  higher  figure  than  this;  and  in 
some  schools,  too,  the  cost  is  considerably  under 
$5.  But  only  conditions  that  are  more  or  less 
general  need  be  considered,  and  the  above  figures 
may  be  taken  as  representing  the  ordinary 
extremes.  It  may  therefore  be  said  that  the 
average  cost  of  maintenance  per  pupil,  based 
upon  enrollment,  ranges  from  $5  to  $11.  The 
mean  of  the  range  is  $8,  and  this  may  accordingly 
be  taken  as  the  most  probable  common  average 
of  the  annual  cost  of  education  per  capita  in  the 
parish  schools  the  country  over.15  For  the  1,237,- 
251  pupils  in  the  parish  schools  during  the  year 
1909-10,  this  would  represent  an  actual  annual 
outlay  of  $9,898,008.  Under  the  public-school 
system  at  present  the  corresponding  cost  of  the 
education  of  all  the  children  in  the  parish  schools 
would,  according  to  a  foregoing  estimate,  amount 
to  $30,51 1,010. 

15  This  conclusion,  which  is  based  upon  observation  and  sta- 
tistics, appears  to  be  confirmed  by  the  following  calculation : 
The  most  common  salary  is  $250,  and  the  average  class  prob- 
ably numbers  about  40.  This  would  give  an  average  per  capita 
expense  for  salaries  of  $6.25.  Now,  all  other  school  expenses 
combined  probably  make  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  salary- 
expense — in  this  case,  $1.87.  The  addition  of  these  two  gives 
$8.12  as  the  average  cost  of  parish-school  maintenance  per 
pupil. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SCHOOLS  OF  FOREIGN  NATIONALITIES 
A  GENERAL  VIEW 

WHEN  Governor  Seward,  in  the  year  1840, 
declared  himself  as  in  favor,  not  only  of  the  sup- 
port of  denominational  schools  by  the  state  but 
also  of  the  policy  of  providing  children  of  foreign 
nationalities  with  teachers  who  were  of  the  same 
language  and  religious  beliefs  as  their  own,  he 
expressed,  at  the  same  time,  his  conviction  that 
this  policy  was  best  adapted  to  prepare  them  for 
their  life  and  responsibilities  as  American  citi- 
zens.1 It  was  a  view  diametrically  opposed  to 
that  prevailing  generally  among  American-born 
citizens  of  the  country.  The  arrival  of  foreign 
immigrants  in  such  vast  numbers,  especially 
during  the  period  beginning  with  the  later  '30*8, 
aroused  fears  for  the  preservation  of  the  English 
language,  as  well  as  American  political  institu- 
tions. Hence,  the  Native  American  and  Know- 
Nothing  movements,  with  their  savage  hostility 
towards  everything  Catholic,  and  particularly  the 
Catholic  school. 

Time  has,  however,  completely  vindicated  the 
soundness  and  the  far-sightedness  of  Governor 

1  Cf .  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.  p.  362. 
294 


A  General  View  295 

Seward's  view.  The  state  did  not,  it  is  true, 
adopt  his  plan;  but  its  main  provisions  had  been 
adopted,  even  before  his  time,  by  the  American 
Catholic  hierarchy,  and  they  have  been  firmly 
adhered  to.  The  Church  has  seen  to  it  that 
children  of  Catholic  immigrants,  speaking  a  for- 
eign language,  have  been  provided  with  teachers 
who  were  of  the  same  faith  and  could  speak  the 
same  tongue.  And  the  result  has  been,  un- 
questionably, such  as  the  great  statesman  antici- 
pated. The  process  of  assimilation  has  gone  on 
quietly,  smoothly,  rapidly.  There  has  been  no 
friction,  no  reaction.  The  movement  has  pro- 
ceeded along  the  lines  of  natural  growth.  Schools 
which  began  with  practically  all  the  teaching  in 
a  foreign  language  have  become,  after  one  gen- 
eration or  two  at  most,  schools  in  which  prac- 
tically all  the  teaching  is  done  in  English.  The 
process  of  assimilation  will  be  dealt  with  more  in 
detail  in  considering  the  schools  of  certain  nation- 
alities. But  there  could  be  no  clearer  evidence 
of  the  thoroughness  of  the  work  of  assimila- 
tion effected  in  the  Catholic  school  than  the  fact 
that  the  German  or  Polish  young  man,  removed 
by  but  two  generations — and  sometimes  by  only 
one — from  his  immigrant  ancestry,  has  become 
the  strongest  advocate  of  the  use  of  English  in 
his  children's  school. 

The  chief  factor  in  the  sum  of  the  influences 
making  for  this  assimilation,  has  been,  of  course, 
the  language,  character,  habits,  institutions  and 
conditions  of  the  American  people — in  a  word, 
the  new  atmosphere  of  the  American  life.  The 
young  man  of  foreign-born  parentage  who  is 


296  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

ambitious  to  make  his  way  in  life,  soon  comes  to 
see  that  it  is  essential  for  him  to  be  able  to  hold 
his  own  in  every  respect  against  competition, 
within  the  field  of  his  chosen  occupation.  Rever- 
ence for  the  parental  language  and  nationality 
will  not,  therefore,  generally  speaking,  prevent 
his  striving  after  the  most  rapid  Americanization 
that  is  possible  for  him. 

A  second  factor  in  the  process  of  assimilation, 
one  which  had  influence  during  the  Immigration 
Period  at  least,  was  the  attitude  of  the  Irish 
immigrants  towards  the  English  language.  The 
Irish  came  to  this  country  speaking,  as  a  rule,  only 
the  English  language.  Thrown  into  a  congrega- 
tion together  with  German  immigrants,  they 
awoke  for  the  first  time  to  a  full  realization  of 
their  attachment  to  the  English  tongue  under  the 
use  of  German  alternately  with  English  in  the 
church,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  obtaining 
in  such  "  mixed  "  parishes.  In  the  school,  how- 
ever, a  "  mixed  "  arrangement  of  this  kind  was 
manifestly  impossible.  There  had  to  be  two 
schools.  Thus,  however  small  the  number  of  the 
Irish  in  a  place,  a  Catholic  English-speaking 
school  usually  came  to  be  established.  And  the 
Catholic  English-speaking  school  stood  out 
clearly  to  all  Catholics  as  the  representative  of 
the  ideal,  for  the  advantage  of  its  training  in 
English  became  in  time  quite  evident.  There  are 
hundreds  of  places  in  this  country,  most  of  them, 
perhaps,  in  the  middle  western  States,  where  such 
"  mixed "  congregations  formerly  existed,  and 
where,  consequently,  the  attitude  of  the  Irish 
towards  the  use  of  the  English  tongue  in  both 


A  General  View  297 

church  and  school  has  been  an  important  factor 
in  the  process  of  assimilation. 

Legislation  has  been  a  third  factor.  With  the 
growth  of  compulsory  school  legislation  and  child 
labor  laws,  one  State  after  another  has  added  to 
the  requirements  for  obtaining  an  employment- 
certificate  the  provision  of  being  able  to  read  and 
write  the  English  language.  Forty-nine  States 
in  1909  had  child-labor  and  compulsory  school 
laws.  Of  these,  the  following  require,  among 
other  things,  the  ability  to  read  and  write  English 
before  the  child  is  free  to  engage  in  gainful 
employment:  Arizona,  Arkansas,  California, 
Indiana,  Kansas,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachu- 
setts, Michigan,  Minnesota,  Montana,  New 
Hampshire,  New  York,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Penn- 
sylvania, Rhode  Island,  Texas,  and  Vermont2. 
The  prevailing  tendency,  too,  is  towards  the 
increase  of  the  requirement  in  English,  as  well 
as  towards  its  extension  throughout  the  States. 
The  legislature  of  Ohio,  in  the  year  1910, 
substituted  for  the  simple  requirement  of 
being  able  to  read  and  write  English  the 
condition  of  passing  satisfactorily  a  fifth- 
grade  test  in  reading,  writing,  spelling,  English, 
grammar,  geography  and  arithmetic.3  Legisla- 
tion has  helped  on  the  movement  making  for  the 
use  of  English  by  the  foreign  nationalities,  but 
it  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  its  influence.  It 
may  even  be  questioned  if  it  has  had  so  very 
much  influence  at  all.  The  rapid  assimilation,  by 

2  Report  Comm.  of  Ed.  for  1909,  p.  228;  cf.  also  Report  for 
1906;    Carrigan,  The  Law  and  the  Amer.  Child,  p.  141. 

3  Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed.  for  1910,  p.  206. 


298  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

the  children  of  the  older  immigrants,  of  the  life 
and  spirit  and  language  of  the  country,  before 
the  era  of  compulsory  education,  seems  to  show 
that  the  assimilative  process  could  hardly  be  less 
rapid  in  these  latter  times,  even  if  there  were  no 
legislative  efforts  to  quicken  it. 

A  fourth  important  factor  is  the  Catholic  for- 
eign-language school  itself,  paradoxical  as  this 
may  seem.  Yet  it  is  a  fact  that  the  process 
of  assimilation  has  gone  on  all  the  more  surely 
and  thoroughly  by  reason  of  its  being  rendered 
a  gradual  process  through  the  Catholic  foreign- 
language  school.  Efforts  to  hasten  the  process 
artificially  could  only  result  in  a  reaction  in  the 
contrary  direction.  The  Catholic  foreign-lan- 
guage school,  in  teaching  the  child  his  parental 
mother-tongue  as  well  as  English,  and  at  the  same 
time  equipping  him  with  the  knowledge  requisite 
for  the  duties  and  opportunities  of  American 
citizenship,  has  formed  the  most  natural  and  easy 
agency  of  transition.  As  has  been  well  said  by 
Cardinal  Gibbons: 

"  Our  Catholic  schools  afford  a  much  easier 
pathway  for  the  foreigner  to  enter  the  American 
life  than  is  the  case  in  the  public  school.  There 
the  child  must  enter  at  once  upon  the  use  of  the 
English  language — perhaps  under  the  guidance 
of  one  who  does  not  know  the  habits  and  cus- 
toms of  the  immigrant  child,  and  hence  cannot 
enter  into  complete  sympathy  with  his  work.  .  .  . 
In  the  Catholic  school  they  come  under  the  in- 
struction of  those  who  know  the  respective  lan- 
guages and  can  understand  their  peculiar  idioms 
of  thought  and  speech.  With  the  English  Ian- 


German  Schools  299 

guage  as  a  constantly  enlarging  part  of  their 
course,  they  are  gradually,  almost  unconsciously, 
brought  into  complete  sympathy  with  American 
ideals,  and  readily  adapt  themselves  to  American 
manners  and  customs.  This  assimilation  is  con- 
stantly going  on  in  our  Catholic  schools,  and  is 
quite  an  important  factor  in  our  national  devel- 
opment." 4 

GERMAN  SCHOOLS 

This  process  of  assimilation  has  had  its  most 
complete  exemplification  in  the  German  immi- 
grant and  his  descendants.  German  immigrants 
outnumber  those  of  any  other  nationality,  and 
they  have  been  coming  to  this  country  longer  than 
most  of  the  others.  The  total  membership  of 
Catholic  parishes  in  which  German  was  used 
exclusively  or  in  connection  with  English,  in  the 
conduct  of  church  services,  was,  according  to  the 
Religious  Census  of  1906,  I,5I9,978.5  Since 
the  German  immigrant,  on  his  arrival,  could 
speak  only  his  native  tongue,  schools  had  to  be 
established  for  his  children  in  which  German 
should  be,  at  least  for  a  time,  either  the  only  or, 
at  any  rate,  the  chief  medium  of  instruction. 
The  German  immigrant,  moreover,  was  strongly 
attached  to  his  mother-tongue,  and  where,  as 
often  happened,  German  settlements  were 
formed,  or  even  entire  districts  peopled  mainly  by 
Germans,  it  was  natural  that  their  mother-tongue 

4  Quoted  in  Cath.  Standard  and  Times,  Dec.  21,  1907. 

6  Census  of  1906,  I,  p.  118.  This  does  not  include  children 
under  nine  years  of  age.  This  reservation  is  always  to  be 
understood  in  the  case  of  the  figures  for  Catholic  "member- 
ship" from  the  Religious  Census  of  1906. 


300  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

should  be  made  the  language  of  the  school  as 
it  was  of  the  home  and  church,  and  that  if 
English  were  to  be  taught  at  all,  it  should  be 
taught  much  as  French  and  German  are  taught 
to-day  in  the  high  school,  and  for  much  the  same 
reason.  This  was  a  condition  that  obtained  in 
Bucks  County  and  other  districts  in  Pennsylvania 
before  the  Revolutionary  War.  It  obtained  also 
in  several  parts  of  Ohio  and  Wisconsin,  and 
in  other  middle  western  States,  during  the  Immi- 
gration Period.  The  condition  gave  rise  to 
alarm,  and  sometimes  in  minds  that  were  alto- 
gether untinged  by  religious  or  nationalistic  bias. 
For,  if  the  language  of  the  school  as  well  as  the 
church  and  the  home  were  German,  would  not 
the  condition  of  segregation  necessarily  con- 
tinue? Might  it  not  become  permanent,  and  so 
constitute  a  menace  to  the  development  of  the 
national  life? 

The  condition,  however,  has  not  continued; 
and  it  passed  away  all  the  more  quickly  and  com- 
pletely, it  must  be  evident  now,  by  reason  of  the 
German  immigrants  being  left  strictly  to  them- 
selves,— free  to  preserve  as  long  as  they  chose 
the  cherished  language,  habits  and  institutions  of 
the  Fatherland,  and  subject  only  to  the  play  of  the 
racial,  social  and  civic  forces  naturally  at  work 
around  them.  It  was  due  to  these  forces  that 
English  came  to  have  a  larger  and  larger  place  in 
the  curriculum,  even  in  the  schools  established 
during  the  Immigration  Period.  The  father  and 
mother  naturally  made  the  mother-tongue  the 
language  of  the  home,  and,  in  union  with  their 
pastor,  they  held  firmly  to  the  principle  that  it 


German  Schools  301 

must  also  be  the  language  in  their  church.  But 
with  their  children  it  was  different.  The  learning 
of  English  thoroughly  was  seen  to  be  necessary 
for  advancement  along  any  but  the  lowest 
levels  of  social  and  economic  life;  and  immigrant 
parents,  accordingly,  were  not  only  anxious  for 
their  children  to  learn  English  thoroughly,  but 
also  favored  the  steady  enlargement  of  English 
in  the  curriculum.  Thus,  as  the  years  went  by, 
one  branch  after  another  came  to  be  taught  at 
least  partly  in  English.  The  movement  was 
accelerated  when,  in  the  early  'So's,  the  second 
generation  of  descendants  of  the  early  immi- 
grants began  to  reach  the  schoolroom.  These 
children  came  from  homes  where  English  was 
spoken.  They  could  not,  in  many  cases,  speak 
German  at  all.  Yet  it  was  these  who  formed 
the  bulk  of  the  attendance  at  German  Catholic 
schools  in  the  closing  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. Under  such  conditions,  the  teaching  of  all 
the  common  branches  in  English  became  a  prac- 
tical necessity,  for  English  had  become  the  only 
available  medium  of  instruction.  It  is  interesting 
to  note — although  it  is  somewhat  beside  the  ques- 
tion— that,  in  connection  with  this  movement  in 
the  German  school,  German  began,  a  little  later, 
to  be  replaced  also  in  the  churches.  The  causal 
connection  between  the  two  movements  is 
obvious. 

The  result  of  this  process  of  assimilation  has 
been,  that  the  schools  in  German  parishes  and  set- 
tlements have  quite  ceased  to  be  "  German,"  in 
the  sense  that-  formerly  attached  to  the  term 
when  used  in  this  connection.  It  is  true  that,  in 


302  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

some  German  parishes,  the  catechism  is  taught 
in  German;  but  even  in  these  the  catechism  is 
also  taught  in  English.  It  is  likewise  true  that,  in 
almost  all  schools  in  German  parishes,  German 
reading  is  taught;  but  even  many  non-German 
parish  schools — and  public  schools  as  well — have 
introduced  German  reading  into  the  work  of  the 
upper  grades.  There  are,  of  course,  exceptional 
conditions  here  and  there,  and  there  are  still 
some  schools  in  which  German  is  the  chief 
medium  of  instruction.  But  the  condition  which 
generally  obtains  to-day,  in  schools  in  German 
parishes  throughout  the  country,  may  be  gauged 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  Archdiocese  of  Phila- 
delphia, which  includes  the  ancient  German 
strongholds  of  Berks  and  Bucks  Counties,  there 
are  no  schools  which  do  not  follow  the  regular 
diocesan  school  program,  in  English;  and  that, 
in  the  Archdiocese  of  Cincinnati,  which  has  been 
one  of  the  strongest  German  centers,  there  are  no 
longer  any  real  "  German "  schools,  English 
being  everywhere  the  common  medium  of 
instruction. 

FRENCH  SCHOOLS 

HISTORICAL 

French  Canadians  constitute  the  bulk  of  the 
French-speaking  population  in  the  United  States. 
Like  the  Poles,  Germans  and  Irish,  the  French 
Canadians  have  proceeded  on  the  principle  that 
the  Catholic  school  constitutes  the  most  effective 
practical  test  of  loyalty  to  the  Church  as  well 


French  Schools  303 

as  the  surest  guarantee  of  the  Church's  future; 
and,  in  proportion  to  their  number  and  means, 
they  have  proved  their  devotion  to  this  principle 
by  results  that  will  compare  favorably  with  those 
achieved  by  any  other  nationality.  The  stream 
of  French-Canadian  immigration  began  at  a  very 
early  period  in  our  history.  The  development  of 
manufacturing  industries,  especially  in  New 
England,  drew  immigrants  in  increasing  numbers 
southward  across  the  Canadian  border.  Thirty 
years  ago,  it  was  estimated  that  the  number  of 
French  Canadians  in  the  States  amounted  to  half 
a  million,  and  of  these  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  were  in  New  England.6  Since  then, 
this  number  has  been  swelled  by  many  thousands 
every  year.  The  census  of  1906  gives  the  total 
membership  of  Catholic  parishes  using  French 
only  or  French  together  with  English,  as 
i, 03 1, 530. 7  Eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  French 
Canadian  school  attendance  to-day  is  in  New 
England. 

The  concentration  of  the  French-Canadian 
population  in  New  England  has,  to  a  certain 
extent,  rendered  the  problem  of  the  parish  school 
less  difficult  than  in  the  case  of  the  other  foreign 
nationalities.  It  led  to  the  building  up  of  strong, 
populous  parishes,  which  could  easily  provide 
for  the  erection  and  support  of  parish  schools; 
in  fact,  in  many  towns  through  these  States,  the 
French  Canadians  make  up  more  than  one-half 
of  the  population.  It  also  made  more  easy  of 

6  John  Gilmary  Shea,  The  Canadian  Element  in  the  U.  S.,  in 
Amer.  Cath.  Q.  Rev.,  IV,  p.  581  seq. 

7  Census  of  1906,  p.  118. 


304  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

solution  the  problem  of  the  teacher.  Quebec 
abounded  in  religious  communities;  and  it  was 
much  less  difficult,  and  much  less  expensive  to 
bring  teachers  from  Canada  to  thriving  New 
England,  than  to  induce  them  to  cross  the  Atlantic 
and  take  up  their  work  in  the  pioneer  towns  and 
settlements  of  the  West,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Irish 
and  German  immigrations  of  an  earlier  date, 

TEACHING    COMMUNITIES 

This  comparatively  greater  facility  of  obtain- 
ing teachers  is  doubtless  the  chief  reason  why  the 
average  number  of  pupils  to  a  teacher  is  so  much 
less  in  the  schools  of  this  nationality  than  in  the 
case  of  certain  others.  For  161  French  Canadian 
schools,  for  instance,  the  average  number  of 
pupils  to  a  teacher  is  43  ;  while  for  293  Polish 
schools,  the  average  number  is  55.  Forty-one 
communities  are  engaged  in  teaching  in  French- 
Canadian  schools  in  the  United  States.  Many  of 
these  are  American  communities,  in  charge  of  a 
single  school  or  two  of  this  class.  Most  of  the 
work,  however,  is  done  by  teaching  orders  from 
Canada  and  France,  several  of  which  have 
established  provincial  houses  in  this  country. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned,  in  the  order  of 
the  numerical  strength  of  the  teaching  member- 
ship and  the  school  attendance:  the  Presentation 
Nuns,  Sisters  of  St.  Ann,  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross  and  Seven  Dolors,  Sisters  of  Jesus  and 
Mary,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  (several  branches), 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Sisters  of  the  Assump- 
tion, Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Notre  Dame, 


French  Schools  305 

Sisters-Servants  of  the  Immaculate  Heart,  Sisters 
of  St.  Chretienne,  and  the  Little  Franciscan  Sis- 
ters of  Mary, — all  of  these,  except  some  of  the 
Sisterhoods  of  St.  Joseph,  being  from  the  Prov- 
ince of  Quebec.  Several  schools  are  taught  by  the 
Little  Brothers  of  Mary  or  the  Marist  Brothers, 
and  the  Brothers  of  St.  Gabriel.  Lay  teachers 
form  only  about  three  per  cent  of  the  whole 
number  of  teachers  engaged  in  the  schools. 

THE   CURRICULUM 

The  amount  of  time  devoted  to  the  study  of 
French  or  to  teaching  in  French,  in  this  class  of 
schools,  varies  considerably  with  locality.  In 
New  England  and  New  York,  it  may  be  said  that 
five  or  six  hours  a  week  represents  the  amount  of 
time  that  is  most  commonly  given  to  French.  In 
certain  localities,  one-half  of  the  day  is  given  to 
French,  and  the  other  half  to  English;  but  this 
condition  is  exceptional.  As  a  rule,  French-Ca- 
nadian parents  are  anxious  for  the  advancement 
of  their  children  in  English,  and  are  quite  satis- 
fied with  the  teaching  of  their  mother-tongue  for 
no  more  than  an  hour  a  day.  French-Canadian 
schools,  therefore,  usually  follow  the  ordinary 
diocesan  school  program.  Half  an  hour  a  day  is 
devoted  to  teaching  the  catechism  in  French,  and 
another  half-hour  to  French  reading,  which,  in 
the  upper  grades,  is  replaced  by  French 
Grammar. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  French  and  French-Canadian 
schools,  teachers  and  pupils.  The  figures  are 


306  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  or  FRENCH  SCHOOLS. 


Diocese. 

Parishes 
without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 
Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Boston,  Mass  

4 

17 

i6q 

14 

8  637 

Chicago,  111  

6 

7O 

I 

2  2O2 

New  Orleans,  La  .  . 

i 

C 

160 

New  York  N.  Y. 

•j 

36 

i  <;i8 

St  Paul,  Minn  .... 

4 

2 

O 

627 

San  Francisco,  Cal  . 

Albany  N.  Y    

4. 

e 

16 

2 

i  ?i  i 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y  . 

I 

2 

36 

Buffalo  N.  Y  

I 

•2 

86 

Burlington,  Vt  .  .  .  . 
Cleveland,  O  

2 

7 

i 

62 

2 

3 

1,769 

c;o 

Duluth,  Minn  

2 

IO 

380 

Fall  River,  Mass  .  . 
Gr'ndRapids,Mich. 

I 

14 

7 

"3 
32 

9 
4 

6,786 
1,410 

Hartford,  Conn  .  .  . 

6 

46 

1  910 

Lincoln  Neb. 

I 

Manchester,  N.  H  . 

16 

165 

2 

7,420 

Marquette,  Mich  .  . 
Ogdensburg,  N.  Y  . 

3 

4 
6 

3° 
62 

I 

943 

I     ^2O 

Portland,  Me  

17 

ICO 

6,<;o8 

Providence,  R.  I.  .  . 
Rockford,  111  

i 

12 

I 

141 
e 

4 

6,366 
oo 

St  Cloud  Minn.  .  . 

I 

6 

2OO 

Sioux  City  la.      .  . 

i 

Springfield,  Mass  .  . 

c 

20 

204 

12,820 

Superior,  Wis  

I 

2 

OO 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.  .  .  . 

i 

I 

c 

2OO 

Total  

27 

161 

1438 

42 

63,048 

Total  membership  of  French  and  French-English  parishes    i  ,03 1 ,530. 

derived  from  the  official  diocesan  reports  to  the 
Catholic    Directory,     for     the     year     I9O9-IO.8 

8  From  the  method  employed  at  this  date  and  previously  in 
gathering  the  school  statistics  published  in  the  Catholic  Direc- 
tory, it  is  evident  that  the  figures  given  for  school  enrollment 
for  the  year  1909-10  represent,  in  part,  the  enrollment  during 
the  previous  scholastic  year.  According  to  the  system  adopted 
by  the  publishers  in  1911,  the  school  statistics  will  be  gathered 
in  October,  and  the  enrollment  given  will  therefore  be  for  the 
scholastic  year  during  which  the  Directory  is  published.  It  is 


Italian  Schools  307 

Here,  as  well  as  in  the  tables  relating  to  other 
nationalities,  the  number  of  pupils  represents 
enrollment  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  year; 
mission  stations  are  excluded;  as  are  also  par- 
ishes and  schools  of  mixed  nationalities,  when- 
ever this  condition  is  made  known  in  the 
Directory.9 

From  statistics  furnished  by  the  Immigration 
Commission,  it  would  appear  that  the  French 
Canadian  pupils  in  the  public  schools  are  about 
equal  in  number  to  those  in  the  parish  schools.10 
However,  the  Commission's  figures  for  the  parish 
schools  are  in  some  cases  too  low.  Thus,  for 
the  parish  schools  in  Manchester,  N.  H.,  the 
number  of  pupils  given  is  923,  while,  according 
to  the  Catholic  Directory,  the  number  is  over 


ITALIAN  SCHOOLS 

According  to  the  census  of  1906,  there  were 
826,023  members  of  Catholic  parishes  in  which 
the  Italian  language  was  used,  either  exclusively 
or  in  connection  with  English.11  In  other  words, 

published  soon  after  January  ist.  The  population-figures  are 
sent  to  the  Directory  between  November  15th  and  January  ist. 
—  Letter  of  Editor  of  Directory,  1911. 

8  The  information  furnished  by  the  Catholic  Directory  in 
regard  to  French  schools  is  evidently  not  complete  for  certain 
dioceses.  Thus,  for  the  Archdiocese  of  New  Orleans  only  one 
school  is  given  as  French.  While  the  statistics  furnished  by 
the  Directory  for  the  general  Catholic  population  are  far  from 
being  reliable,  there  is  good  reason  for  regarding  the  figures 
given  for  school  attendance  in  the  individual  schools  as  fairly 
accurate  in  the  aggregate.  The  tables  given  in  this  and  the 
following  chapter  have  been  compiled  from  the  reports  sent 
in  from  individual  schools. 

"Abstract  of  the  Report,  1911,  on  The  Children  of  Immi- 
grants in  Schools,  pp.  66,  73. 

11  Census  of  1906,  p.  119. 


308  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

this  represents  the  number  of  persons  who  belong 
to  Italian  parishes.  In  strength  of  church  mem- 
bership, therefore,  the  Italians  rank  third  among 
the  nationalities  using  a  foreign  tongue  in  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  being  pre- 
ceded only  by  the  Germans  and  the  French  Cana- 
dians. Yet  comparatively  few  Italian  parishes 
have  parish  schools.  The  chief  reason  for  this 
appears  to  be  an  almost  entire  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion of  the  importance  of  the  Catholic  school. 
Italian  children  generally  attend  the  public 
schools. 

In  response  to  the  efforts  of  the  bishops,  prom- 
ising Italian  schools  have  been  organized  in  a 
number  of  places  within  recent  years.  Arch- 
bishop Farley,  of  New  York,  has  taken  the  lead 
in  this  work,  and  the  future  appears  to  hold  out 
better  hopes  for  the  education  of  Italian  children 
under  Catholic  auspices.  One  of  the  difficulties 
has  been  to  secure  proper  teachers.  This  diffi- 
culty has  now  been  largely  overcome.  Several 
Italian  teaching  communities  have  established 
themselves  in  the  United  States,  and  are  doing 
efficient  work  in  the  schools  for  Italian  children. 
Chief  among  these  is  the  community  known  as 
the  Missionary  Sisters  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  which 
has  erected  a  novitiate  in  New  York  City.  Among 
other  Italian  sisterhoods  are  the  Missionary 
Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
the  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis, 
Allegany,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Baptistine  Sisters. 

Italian  immigrants  are  but  little  concerned,  as 
a  rule,  about  the  retention  of  the  mother-tongue 
by  their  children.  Frequently,  catechism  and 


Italian  Schools 


3°9 


reading,  with  some  grammar,  are  taught  in 
Italian;  but  frequently,  too,  all  the  teaching  in 
the  Italian  parish  schools  is  in  English.  This 
is  the  case,  for  example,  in  all  the  schools  for 
Italian  children  in  New  York  City.  The  second 
generation  of  Italian  children  know  so  little 
Italian  that  they  have  to  be  taught  even  the  cate- 
chism in  English.12 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  or  ITALIAN  SCHOOLS.  13 


Diocese. 

Parishes 
without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 
Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Boston,  Mass  

6 

I 

Q 

I 

4.71 

Chicago  111  

o 

I 

IO 

7O2 

Cincinnati  O    .... 

i 

Milwaukee,  Wis  .  .  . 

2 

New  Orleans,  La  .  . 

I 

New  York,  N.  Y... 
Oregon  City,  Ore  .  . 

IS 

7 

i 

47 

2 

29 

3,700 

82 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  .  . 

14 

3 

2Z 

i  6?"? 

St.  Louis,  Mo  

2 

i 

•2 

171 

St  Paul,  Minn.  .  .  . 

I 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 

I 

Albany,  N.  Y  
Altoona  Pa. 

3 

i 

i 

2 

2 

2 

2 

IOO 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  .   . 
Buffalo,  N.  Y  
Cleveland,  O  

8 

9 
o 

3 
5 

i 

14 
19 

s(?) 

6 
i 

952 

989 

2O2 

Columbus,  O    .... 

Davenport,  la  

Denver,  Colo  

2 

16 

72O 

Detroit,  Mich  

I 

T. 

I2O 

Duluth,  Minn  

Erie  Pa  

Fall  River,  Mass  .  . 

Galveston  Tex.  .  .  . 

Gr'ndRapids.Mich. 

i 

Harrisburg.  Pa.  .  .  . 

2 

Hartford,  Conn  .  .  . 

6 

2 

cr 

22^ 

Indianapolis,  Ind  .  . 

i 

Little  Rock,  Ark  .  .  . 

2 

12  Cf.  Lord,  The   Italian  in  America,  p.  242  seq. 

13  From  parish  reports   in  Cath.  Dir.   for   1909-10. 


3 10  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  ITALIAN  SCHOOLS — Continued 


Diocese. 

Parishes 
without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 
Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Marquette,  Mich  .  . 

2 

Mobile,  Ala  

I 

I 

4? 

Monterey  and  Los 
Angeles,  Cal.  .  .  . 

2 

Newark  N.  J  

8 

26 

I  6^8 

Peoria  111  

2 

Pittsburgh,  Pa  
Providence,  R.  I.  .  . 

9 

7 

3 

II 

I 

514 

Richmond,  Va  .... 

I 

Rochester,  N.  Y. 

I 

i 

IO 

eve 

Rockford,  111  

I 

Sacramento,  Cal.  .  . 

I 

Scranton,  Pa  

I  3 

i 

6 

211 

Springfield,  Mass  .  . 

6 

Superior,  Wis  

I 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.  .  .  . 

I 

Trenton,  N.  J.    ... 

I? 

2 

6 

600 

Wheeling,  W.  Va.  . 

2 

Winona,  Minn  .... 

I 

4 

79 

Total  

I7C 

48 

220 

ci 

i?  8^8 

Total  membership  of  Italian  and  Italian-English  parishes     826,023. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SCHOOLS  OF  FOREIGN  NATIONALITIES. -Continued 
POLISH  SCHOOLS 

BEGINNINGS 

THE  stream  of  Polish  immigration  reached 
the  United  States  in  the  year  1855,  when  the 
Polish  settlement  of  Panna  Marya  was  formed 
in  Texas.  The  following  years  witnessed  the 
arrival  of  other  Polish  colonies  in  Texas,  as  well 
as  in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  In  the  year  1870, 
with  the  inauguration  by  Prussia  of  a  fresh  policy 
of  persecution  and  proscription  against  the  Poles, 
a  great  tide  of  immigration  set  in  towards  the 
United  States.  Between  the  years  1855  and  1880, 
eighty-five  Polish  churches  were  built.  Wher- 
ever a  Polish  parish  was  established,  a  parish 
school,  as  a  rule,  also  arose;  and  the  erection  of 
the  school  was  usually  coincident  with  the  erec- 
tion of  the  first  church.  Each  year  after  the  last 
mentioned  date  witnessed  a  fresh  influx  of  Polish 
immigrants,  and  the  building  of  a  corresponding 
number  of  churches  and  schools.1  According  to 

1  Kruszka,  Historya  Polska  w  Ameryce,  VI,  p.  8  seq.,  I,  p.  / 1 
seq. ;  America,  III,  p.  411;  Fronczack,  art.  on  The  Poles  in 
America,  quoted  in  New  Century  (Wash.),  Oct.  6,  1906;  Van 


312  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

the  Religious  census  of  1906,  the  membership 
of  Catholic  parishes  using  Polish  alone  or  Polish 
and  English  amounted  to  736,1 50. 2 

Problems  of  the  most  difficult  character  con- 
fronted the  early  Polish  parish  priests  in  their 
efforts  to  establish  Polish  schools.  It  was  a 
situation  like  that  which  confronted  the  pastors 
in  the  Irish  and  German  settlements  during  the 
period  1840-1860.  The  Poles  were  even  poorer, 
perhaps,  than  the  immigrants  of  that  period, 
and,  like  the  Germans,  they  were,  on  their  arrival, 
unable  to  speak  a  word  of  English.  Although 
poor,  however,  the  Poles  were  generous  even  to 
a  fault  where  their  religious  interests  were  con- 
cerned; and  the  churches  and  schools,  even 
though  heavily  debt-burdened,  which  sprang  up 
everywhere  in  the  midst  of  their  new  settlements, 
testified  eloquently  to  their  piety  and  to  their 
lively  interest  in  the  education  of  their  children. 
A  more  difficult  problem  was  that  of  providing 
teachers  for  the  schools.  The  schools  were 
built,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  without  any  one  stop- 
ping to  consider  the  problem  of  the  teacher.  The 
first  teachers  were  the  best  that  could  be  pro- 
cured on  the  spot  or  in  the  vicinity,  the  better 
educated  among  the  immigrants  being  pressed 
into  service  for  the  purpose.  Men  were  usually 
employed  for  the  larger  boys,  and  women  for  the 
girls  and  smaller  boys. 

In  Chicago  the  first  Polish  parish,  that  of  St. 
Stanislaus,  was  organized  in  1869.  By  the  year 

Norman,   Poland,   The   Knight   among   Nations,   p.   326   seq. ; 
The   Confessions   of  a   Polish   Priest,   in   Cath.  Standard  and 
Times,  Mar.  12,   1910. 
"Census  of  1906,  p.  IIQ. 


Polish  Schools  313 

1874,  when  the  Rev.  Vincent  Barzynski,  of  the 
Order  of  the  Resurrection,  who  had  come  from 
Poland  some  years  before,  took  charge,  it  had 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  families.  Father 
Barzynski  was  a  remarkable  man,  and  his  life 
and  labors  have  left  deep  and  lasting  traces  in 
the  history  of  his  countrymen  in  America.  We 
are  concerned  here  with  his  work  as  a  church- 
man only  in  so  far  as  it  bears  upon  education; 
and  it  will  suffice  to  say  of  his  church  work  that, 
during  his  twenty-five  years'  pastorate,  St.  Stan- 
islaus Parish  grew  to  be  one  of  the  largest  Cath- 
olic parishes  in  the  world,  and  became  the  chief 
focal  point  of  influence  for  the  entire  Polish 
body  in  the  United  States.  He  established  the 
first  Catholic  Polish  paper,  and  the  first  Catho- 
lic Polish  daily.  An  ardent  believer  in  Polish 
Catholic  schools,  his  power  as  an  organizer  was 
shown,  not  only  in  his  development  of  the  St. 
Stanislaus  Parish  School  until  it  came  to  be  nu- 
merically probably  the  largest  single  elementary 
school  in  the  world — counting  to-day  3,820 
pupils,  with  65  teachers, — but  also  in  his  efforts 
to  make  the  work  of  the  school  the  most  highly 
efficient  possible.  Under  his  direction,  the  earli- 
est Polish  text-books  were  issued.  He  lent  a 
helping  hand  in  the  formation  of  the  first  teach- 
ing corps  of  Polish  Sisters,  brought  from  Europe 
one  of  the  two  largest  Polish  teaching  communi- 
ties in  this  country,  and  founded  a  third  com- 
munity. He  developed  secondary  schools  for 
boys  and  girls  in  the  parish,  and  the  St.  Stanislaus 
College  for  boys.3 

"Confessions  of  a  Polish  Priest,  in  Cath.  Stand,  and  Times, 
Mar.  12,  1910;   Kruszka,  op.  cit,  I,  p.  76  seq.,  Ill,  p.  14  seq. 


314  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities^ 

Another  priest  who  had  a  great  influence  in 
the  educational  development  of  the  Poles  in 
America  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Dombrowski.  He 
brought  the  Felician  Sisters  to  America  while  pas- 
tor at  Polonia,  Wis.,  and  helped  to  establish 
them  in  Detroit  after  he  took  charge  of  a  parish 
in  that  city.  His  most  notable  educational  work 
was  probably  the  founding  in  that  city,  in  1884, 
of  the  Polish  College  and  Seminary  of  SS.  Cyril 
and  Methodius,  an  institution  which  has  given 
to  hundreds  of  priests,  along  with  a  theological 
training,  the  knowledge  of  the  Polish  language, 
literature  and  history  requisite  for  an  effective 
ministry  in  Polish  parishes.4 

TEACHING  BODIES 

The  first  attempt  to  found  a  Polish  teaching 
order  in  the  United  States  was  made  by  the  Rev. 
Felix  Zwiardowski,  a  Resurrectionist,  pastor  at 
Panna  Marya,  Texas,  about  1873.  But  the  com- 
munity did  not  long  survive.5 

A  colony  of  the  Felician  Sisters  was  brought 
from  Cracow,  Poland,  to  Polonia,  Wis.,  by 
Father  Dombrowski,  in  1874.  Fire  destroyed 
their  house,  and  they  moved  to  Detroit  in  1882, 
having  in  the  meantime  opened  a  school  at  Bay 
City,  Mich.  With  the  aid  of  Father  Dombrow- 
ski, now  also  at  Detroit,  the  Sisters  established 
their  mother-house  in  that  city,  and,  with  the 
growth  of  the  community's  membership,  they 
were  sent  to  Polish  schools  in  various  parts  of  the 

*Kruszka,  Historya,  II,  p.  112  seq. 
»Ib.,  II,  p.  101. 


Polish  Schools  315 

country.  In  1900,  they  took  charge  of  a  school 
at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  which  has  become  the  provin- 
cial-house of  their  schools  in  the  East.  The 
Felician  Sisters  are  the  largest  of  the  purely 
Polish  teaching  orders,  numbering  to-day  about 
800  Sisters.6 

The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  family  of  Nazareth 
were  brought  to  this  country  by  Father  Barzyn- 
ski,  in  1885.  They  opened  an  academy  on  West 
Division  St.,  Chicago,  two  years  later,  and  took 
charge  subsequently  of  Polish  schools  in  that  city, 
and  in  many  dioceses  throughout  the  country. 
The  central  establishment  is  at  Desplaines,  111. 
They  constitute  the  second  largest  of  the  purely 
Polish  communities.  The  Sisters  number  44O.7 

There  are  several  other  Polish  teaching  orders. 
The  Polish  Franciscan  School  Sisters  were 
founded  by  Father  Barzynski,  in  1893.  Their 
mother-house  is  at  St.  Louis,  and  they  have 
charge  of  seven  schools.8  The  Sisters  of  the 
Resurrection  came  to  America  in  the  year  1900. 
The  central  establishment  is  in  Chicago.  The 
Sisters  number  63.°  The  Polish  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  were  founded  in  1901,  with  the  mother- 
house  at  Stephen's  Point,  Wis.  Under  Mother 
Felicia,  forty-two  members  of  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis,  of  Milwaukee,  were,  in  that  year,  ca- 
nonically  authorized  to  separate  from  the  Order 
to  form  the  new  body,  which  has  to-day  218 
members.10  The  Bernardine  Sisters  of  St.  Fran- 

8  Kruszka,  Historya,  II,  p.  112  seq. ;    Cath.  Dir.  for  1910. 

7  Kruszka,  op.  cit,  II,  p.  119  seq.;   Cath.  Dir. 

8  Kruszka,  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  HO. 
Mb.,  p.  123. 

10  Ib.,  p.  129. 


316  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

cis  have  their  principal  establishment  at  Reading, 
Pa.  The  Sisters  of  St,  Francis,,  under  the  patron- 
age of  St.  Cunegunda,  have  their  mother-house  in 
Chicago.  The  community  known  as  the  Filiae 
Mariae  have  a  school  at  Manayunk,  Pa.11 

Among  the  non-Polish  communities  which  have 
charge  of  Polish  schools,  the  School  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  of  Milwaukee,  occupy  the  first 
place.  Some  of  their  Polish  schools  have  grown 
to  be  very  large,  notably  St.  Stanislaus'  and  St. 
John  Cantius',  Chicago,  with  65  and  27  teachers 
respectively,  and  St.  Josaphat's,  Milwaukee,  with 
25  teachers.  The  community  began  this  work  as 
early  as  i873.12 

A  number  of  other  non-Polish  communities 
have  charge  of  Polish  schools,  among  which  may 
be  mentioned  the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word 
and  the  Sisters  of  Divine  Providence,  Texas;  the 
School  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  Milwaukee,  who 
conduct  nine  schools;  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis, 
St.  Francis,  Wis. ;  the  Sisters  of  St.  Francis, 
Lafayette,  Ind. ;  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
Notre  Dame,  Ind.;  the  Benedictine  and  Domini- 
can Sisterhoods;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  of 
St.  Joseph;  and  various  other  branches  of  the 
Franciscan  Sisters.13 

There  is  no  Polish  teaching  community  of 
Brothers.  The  Brothers  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Holy  Cross  have  charge  of  the  large  and 
flourishing  school  of  Holy  Trinity  Parish,  Chi- 
cago, where,  in  1909,  they  also  established  a 
Polish  high  school. 

"Cath.  Dir.;    Rep.  Supt.  of  Schools,  Phila.,  1910. 

12  Kruszka,  p.  106;    Cath.  Dir. 

13  Kruszka,  op.  cit.,  II,  passim;    Cath.  Dir. 


Polish  Schools 


Fully  fifty  per  cent  of  the  Sisters  in  Polish 
schools  speak  English  and  Polish  with  equal 
fluency,  and  about  eighty  per  cent  or  so  were  born 
in  America  or  have  spent  all  but  the  years  of  their 
earliest  infancy  here.14 

The  following  table  shows  how  the  work  of 
the  Polish  schools  is  divided  among  the  Polish 
teaching  orders,  and  also  the  large  share  of  it 
that  is  being  done  by  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame — the  only  non-Polish  community  in  the 
list: 


Teaching  Body. 

Schools. 

Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Av.  No. 

Pupils  to 
Teacher. 

Sisters. 

Lay. 

Felician  Sisters 

98 

25 

22 

6 
3 

5 

7 

i 

18 

64 

656 
244 

ISI 
18 

21 

22 
? 

3 

251 
116 

4 
5 

I 
I 

I 
6 

36,285 
15,907 
8,503 
i,333 
1,229 

695 

506 
192 

15,587 
6,728 

55 
64 
56 
70 
58 
3i 

Sisters  of  the  Holy  Fam- 
ily of  Nazareth  
Polish     Sisters     of     St. 
Joseph 

Bernardine  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis 

Sisters  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion   

Sisters  of  III  Order  of 
St.  Francis  (Chicago) 
Polish  Franciscan  School 
Sisters  

Filiae  Alariae  

48 

61 

58 

School  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame        

Lay  teachers.  .  . 

The  number  and  distribution  of  the  Polish 
parishes,  schools,  teachers  and  pupils  may  be  seen 
in  the  following  table : 

14  Confessions  of  a  Polish  Priest,  Cath.  Stand,  and  Times, 
Feb.  12,  1910. 


318  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  POLISH  SCHOOLS." 


Diocese. 

Parishes 
without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 
Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Baltimore  Md  .... 

•2. 

2S 

i  616 

Boston,  Mass  
Chicago,  111  

5 
•z 

3 
26 

7 
334 

2 

6 

414 
21,641 

Cincinnati  O 

2 

2 

02 

Milwaukee,  Wis  .  .  . 
New  York,  N.  Y... 
Oregon  City  Ore  .  . 

2 

3 

i 

16 
6 

139 
9 

7 
6 

8,031 
901 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  .  . 
St  Louis  Mo  

7 

14 
4 

52 
17 

6 

3,470 
812 

St.  Paul,  Minn  
Albany  N.  Y  

4 
4 

4 
e 

20 

1C 

2 
13 

1,225 

I   ZAI 

Altoona,  Pa  

4 

3 

C 

2-26 

Belleville,  111  

i 

3 

117 

Brooklyn,  N.Y  
Buffalo  N.  Y  

5 

S 

20 

22 
I?2 

2 

I 

1,035 

8  248 

Burlington  Vt    .  .  . 

i 

i 

2 

64 

Cleveland,  O  

8 

12 

72 

IO 

4,001 

Columbus,  O  

I 

I 

CQ 

Denver  Colo  

i 

Detroit,  Mich  

i 

16 

134 

7,804. 

Duluth  Minn. 

2 

i 

2 

i  =;o 

Erie  Pa  

i 

12 

I 

830 

Fall  River,  Mass.  .  . 
Fargo  N.  Dak    .  .  . 

2 
I 

2 

7 

I 

372 

Fort  Wayne  Ind 

12 

60 

6 

3  OO? 

Galveston,  Tex.  .  .  . 

I 

2 

40 

Gr'ndRapids.Mich. 

12 

72 

2 

^,860 

Green  Bay,  Wis.  .. 
Harrisburg  Pa 

I 

19 

4 

45 

21 

4 

2,701 
I.7C.4. 

Hartford,  Conn.  .  . 
Helena  Mont 

I 

ii 

i 

14 

? 

21 

1,845 
IOO 

Kansas  City  Mo 

i 

I 

4O 

La  Crosse,  Wis.  .  .  . 
Leavenworth,  Kan. 

I 

6 

2 

15 

6 

3 

677 
211 

Lincoln,  Neb. 

I 

4 

04 

Manchester,  N.  H  . 

I 

c 

184 

Marquette  Mich  . 

I 

I 

I 

Q-i 

Mobile  Ala. 

•2 

Monterey  and  Los 
Angeles,  Cal  .... 

I 

Newark,  N.  J  
Ogdensburg,  N.  Y  . 

3 

i 

7 

39 

I 

2,970 

Omaha,  Neb  

3 

8 

2i 

-1 

1,188 

15  Summary  of  parish  reports  in  Cath.  Directory  for  1909-10. 


Polish  Schools  319 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  POLISH  SCHOOLS — Continued 


Diocese 

Parishes 

without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 
Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Peoria,  111  

I 

e 

26 

2 

1,429 

Pittsburgh,  Pa  
Providence,  R.  I.  .  . 

3 
4 

21 

74 

16 

4,799 

Rochester,  N.  Y.  .  . 

•2 

II 

40  6 

St.  Cloud,  Minn.  .  . 

2 

I 

4 

70 

St.  Joseph,  Mo.  .  .  . 

I 

4 

IQO 

San  Antonio,  Tex  . 

IO 

7? 

884 

Scranton,  Pa  

20 

IO 

2O 

12 

2,170 

Sioux  City,  la  

I 

Sioux  Falls,  S.  Dak. 

I 

I 

8 

I7C 

Springfield,  Mass.  . 

4 

4 

2S 

1.4-27 

Superior,  Wis  .... 

2 

2 

IO 

417 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.  .  .  . 
Trenton,  N.  J  

2 

I 

2 

7 

6 
2S 

I 

4 

436 
1,687 

Wheeling,  W.  Va.  . 

2 

Wilmington,  Del  .  . 

I 

8 

C.OO 

Winona,  Minn 

•2 

2 

18 

Q2< 

Total  

lie 

203 

I  ^OI 

176 

98,126 

Total  membership  of  Polish  and  Polish-English  parishes     736, 150. 18 

The  above  statistics,  as  well  as  those  relating 
to  the  other  foreign  nationalities,  are  a  summary 
of  the  Polish  school  reports  in  the  Catholic 
Directory  for  the  Census-Year  1909-10.  Where 
Polish  parishes  are  without  schools,  it  may  be 
taken  for  granted  that  they  are  either  newly 
founded  or  small.  It  may  also  be  remarked  that 
where  Polish  schools  have  lay  teachers  exclu- 
sively, it  is  due  to  one  or  both  of  these  same  con- 
ditions, as  is  evident  from  the  small  number  of 
teachers  in  the  individual  schools. 

What  proportion,  it  may  be  asked,  does  the 
total  enrollment  in  Polish  schools  bear  to  the  total 


18  Census  of  1906,  p.  119. 


320  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

number  of  Polish  children  of  school  age,  and  to 
the  total  Polish  population?  These  questions 
cannot  be  answered  directly,  for  neither  the  Polish 
population  nor  the  number  of  Polish  children  of 
school  age  is  accurately  known.  The  Polish  pop- 
ulation of  the  United  States  has  been  variously 
estimated  at  from  two  to  four  millions.17 

In  the  years  1908-10,  inquiry  was  made  by  the 
Immigration  Commission  in  the  public  schools 
of  thirty-seven  leading  cities,  and  in  the  parish 
schools  of  twenty-four  of  these  same  cities,  con- 
cerning the  nationality  of  the  pupils.18  It  was 
intended  that  the  investigation  should  include  all 
the  children  attending  the  public  and  the  parish 
schools  in  the  cities  selected.  If  the  Commis- 
sion's figures  for  public-school  attendance  be 
accepted,  and  allowance  be  made  for  the  dis- 
crepancies in  its  parish  school  enrollment,19  it 
would  appear  from  the  report  that  there  are 
about  as  many  Polish  children  attending  the  pub- 
lic schools  as  attend  the  parish  schools.  This 
would  indicate  a  total  Polish  enrollment,  in  parish 
and  public  schools  of  the  United  States,  of  about 
200,000,  which  would  correspond  to  a  population 
of  about  i,ooo,ooo.20  It  must  be  noted,  however, 
that  the  Commission's  figures  for  Polish  attend- 
ance at  the  public  schools  do  not  include  the  chil- 

17  Cf.  Kruszka,  op.  cit. 

18  Cf.  Abstract  of  the  Report  on  the  Children  of  Immigrants 
in  Schools:    Washington,  1911. 

19  The  parish   school   enrollment,   as  given   in  the   report,   is 
undoubtedly  too  low  in  some  cases.   The  Polish  parish  schools 
in   Milwaukee  are   credited  with  an   attendance   of    19/9,   and 
those  in  Cleveland  with  an  attendance  of  705.     Cf.  p.  66.     The 
actual    attendance,    in    each    city,    is   probably   three    times   as 
great.     Cf.  p.  307  supra. 

20  Cf.  Rep.  Bureau  of  Ed.  for  1909,  II,  p.  606. 


Polish  Schools  321 

dren  of  Polish  fathers  who  were  born  in  this 
country;  and  also,  that  the  Polish  parish  school 
enrollment  of  98,126,  as  given  in  the  above  table, 
does  not  include  Polish  pupils  attending  non- 
Polish  parish  schools.  The  number  of  these  lat- 
ter is  very  large;  but  there  is  no  means  at  pres- 
ent of  ascertaining  just  how  large  the  number  is. 
The  total  Polish  school  enrollment  would  be  at 
least  doubled,  in  all  probability,  by  the  inclusion 
of  both  these  elements;  and  this  would  mean  a 
corresponding  Polish  population  in  the  United 
States  of  at  least  two  millions. 

GROWTH     IN     EFFICIENCY THE     CURRICULUM 

A  glance  at  the  above  tables  shows  one  of  the 
great  evils  that  Polish  educators  have  to  contend 
against — overcrowding.  The  evil  is  not,  it  is 
true,  confined  to  Polish  schools.  It  exists  in  most 
Catholic  city  schools.  It  exists  also  in  the  public 
school  systems  of  many  of  the  large  cities,  where 
thousands  of  children  are  kept  out  of  school  for 
one-half  of  each  school  day.  Overcrowding  is 
one  of  the  most  acute  problems  with  which  Polish 
educators  have  to  deal.  The  school  buildings 
are  too  small,  the  teachers  are  too  few,  and  there 
is  no  playground  or  even  breathing-place  for 
the  pupils,  in  many  cases,  except  the  street.  It 
must  be  said  that  the  evil,  in  the  two  first  of 
these  respects,  at  least,  is  far  less  than  it  was. 
New  and  larger  school  buildings  are  appearing 
in  the  city  parishes,  and  the  growth  of  the  Polish 
teaching  orders,  as  well  as  of  Polish  membership 
in  the  non-Polish  orders,  has  been  very  marked. 
But  Polish  immigrants  are  still  pouring  into  the 


322  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

country,  and  the  average  Polish  family  is  very 
large.  The  growth  of  the  parishes  is  conse- 
quently so  rapid  that  the  Polish  city  pastor  finds 
it  quite  impossible  to  provide  all  the  teachers  and 
all  the  class-room  space  requisite  for  a  well  con- 
ducted school,  just  as  various  city  boards  of  edu- 
cation find  it  impossible  to  provide  sufficient  seat- 
ing capacity  for  the  annual  increase  of  pupils  in 
the  public  schools. 

To  the  rapid  increase  of  the  Polish  population 
is  also  due,  to  some  extent,  the  unprepared  state 
of  many  of  the  teachers.  Most  of  the  Polish 
teaching  orders  are  passing  through  the  stage  of 
growth  which  marked  the  early  history  of  the 
other  teaching  orders  in  this  country.  The  sup- 
ply of  vocations  is  not  equal  to  the  demand  for 
teachers,  resulting  from  the  overwhelming  in- 
crease of  pupils  in  the  schools.  Competent  lay 
teachers  who  are  willing  to  work  for  a  teacher's 
wages,  are  few  and  hard  to  find.  It  is,  then, 
either  the  religious  teacher,  or  none.  This  is  the 
dilemma  in  which  the  pastor  is  placed,  whether  he 
is  opening  a  new  school,  or  making  an  impera- 
tively needed  enlargement.  The  problem  of  the 
maintenance  of  the  school  presents  itself  to  him 
as  a  matter  of  life  and  death  for  the  Faith.  And 
it  is  this  view  that  very  often  prevails  with  the 
mother-superior  of  the  teaching  order.  A  not 
unfriendly  critic  has  thus  described  the  result: 

"A  girl  enters  the  convent;  she  is  perhaps 
possessed  of  an  elementary  education,  and  per- 
haps she  is  not.  If  she  has  advanced  to  the 
threshold  of  the  high  school  she  has  done  well. 


Polish  Schools  323 

Now  she  is  coached  as  strenuously  as  possible, 
and  the  "  degree  work  "  is  given  as  quickly  as 
possible.  Three  years  later,  perhaps  but  two 
years  later,  little  Wladislawa,  whom  you  pre- 
pared for  First  Holy  Communion  four  or  five 
years  ago,  is  hurried  out  to  your  neighbor's 
parish,  where  .  .  .  she  is  doing  a  work  that  will 
soon  wear  the  life  out  of  her,  for  it  is  beyond 
her  power.  There  has  been  no  time  for  training 
her  along  educational  lines,  certainly  not  along 
pedagogical  lines."  21 

This  condition  still  exists  to  a  large  extent 
among  Polish  teaching  orders,  but  it  is  far  from 
being  universal.  It  is  found  chiefly  in  the  newer 
communities,  in  those  organized  within  the  past 
dozen  years.  The  older  Polish  communities  and 
English-speaking  communities  doing  Polish  work, 
have  profited  by  experience.  In  some  of  these, 
the  pedagogical  training  of  the  Sisters  is  still  far 
from  perfect;  in  others,  like  the  School  Sisters 
of  Notre  Dame,  it  has  reached  a  very  high 
standard.  It  is  in  recently  founded  parishes,  as  a 
rule,  that  the  crudest  teaching  is  found.22 

Another  obstacle  to  efficiency  which  the  Polish 
educator  has  had  to  contend  with,  especially  in 
the  teaching  of  English,  has  been  the  duality  of 
the  medium  of  instruction.  Polish  as  well  as 
English  had  to  be  taught  as  a  living  language,  and 
not  only  as  a  living  language  but  as  a  language 
no  less  important  for  the  pupil  than  English. 
This  condition  necessarily  increased  the  number 

21  Confessions  of  a  Polish  Priest,  in  Cath.  Stand,  and  Times, 
Jan.  29,  1910. 


324 


Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 


of  school-room  subjects,  and  the  time  devoted  to 
English  had  to  be  cut  down.  Certain  of  the 
"  non-essential  "  subjects  were  also  omitted,  and 
in  these  ways  the  curriculum  of  the  Polish  schools 
has  been  generally  constructed  so  as  to  provide 
time  sufficient  for  a  full  elementary  study  of 
Polish,  without  an  undue  lengthening  of  the 
school  hours.  Religion  is  usually  taught  only  in 
Polish.  The  following  curriculum 23  may  be 

A  TYPICAL  POLISH  SCHOOL  CURRICULUM. 


ISt 

Grade 

2d 

Grade 

3d 
Grade 

4th 
Grade 

5th 
Grade 

6th 
Grade 

7th 
Grade 

8th 
Grade 

Catechism(Polish) 
Bible          History 
(Polish)  

135 

GO 

135 
9° 

135 

QO 

135 
90 

135 
no 

135 

QO 

90 

90 

Church      History 
(Polish)  

60 

60 

Reading  (Polish)  . 
Grammar  &  Com- 
position (Polish) 

315 

285 

2IO 
60 

ISO 
QO 

15° 

QO 

15° 
QO 

135 

QO 

i35  i 

QO 

History  of  Poland 
(Polish)  

3° 

3° 

60 

60 

60 

Literature(Polish) 

90 

oc 

Arithmetic  (Eng.) 
Reading  &  Spell- 
ing (English)..  .  . 
Grammar  &  Com- 
position (Eng.).  . 
History  of  United 
States  (Eng.)  .  .  . 
Geography  (Eng.) 
Penmanship  
Drawing 

300 
360 

... 
QO 
60 

300 
300 

60 
90 
60 

300 

210 
60 

60 
60 
90 
GO 

300 
ISO 
90 

90 
60 

QO 
60 

300 
15° 
90 

90 
60 
90 
60 

300 
ISO 
90 

90 
60 
QO 
60 

300 

15° 
90 

90 
60 
90 
60 

300 
150 
90 

90 
60 
90 
60 

Vocal  Music  (Eng. 
and  Polish)  
Recess   .  .  . 

I°5 

i  =;o 

i°5 

I  "JO 

90 

T5° 

90 
I  ^O 

90 
I  1O 

90 
I  ^O 

90 

150 

90 

150 

Total    no.    min- 
utes per  week  .  . 

1605 

1605 

1605 

1605 

1605 

1605 

1605 

1605 

23  Curriculum  of  the  Holy  Trinity  School,  Chicago,  com- 
municated by  Bro.  Peter,  C.S.C.,  Principal.  The  school  is 
taught  by  both  Brothers  and  Sisters.  For  a  fuller  enumera- 


Polish  Schools  325 

taken  as  typical  of  the  work  of  the  average  Polish 
school  in  the  Middle  West.  In  the  Eastern 
States,  Polish  teaching  is  more  often  confined  to 
catechism,  reading,  and  grammar,  and  to  a  single 
hour  or  half-hour  a  day.  Generally  speaking, 
however,  from  one-fourth  to  one-half  of  the 
school  time  is  given  to  teaching  in  Polish. 

It  is  obvious  that  any  subtraction  from  the 
time  that  is  devoted  to  English  in  ordinary 
English-speaking  schools  must  mean  a  decrease 
of  efficiency  in  the  work  in  English  as  a  whole, 
and  that  Polish  pupils,  who  devote  less  time  to 
English  than  pupils  in  English-speaking  schools, 
cannot  hope  to  leave  school  with  a  training  in 
English  equal  to  the  latter's.24  Polish  educators 
would  probably  be  the  first  to  admit  this.  They 
would  very  properly  claim  in  reply,  no  doubt, 
that  the  command  of  Polish  offsets,  at  least  for 
the  great  majority,  the  disadvantage  of  the  less- 
ened efficiency  of  the  training  in  English.  But 
the  lessened  efficiency  in  English,  nevertheless, 
presents  a  serious  problem,  and  it  is  a  problem 
which  is  sure  to  become  more  acutely  felt  with 
each  passing  year.  The  demand  for  more 
efficient  and  thorough  teaching  in  Polish  schools, 
especially  in  the  English  language,  is  being 
voiced  by  many  Poles,  especially  the  young  men 
who  are  graduates  of  English-speaking  colleges; 
and  they  would  appear  to  be,  in  this  respect,  but 
the  advance-guard  of  the  coming  generation. 
Even  now,  more  time  is  given  to  English  in 
Polish  schools  than  was  given  ten  years  ago. 

tion  of  the  studies  of  the  various  grades  in  Polish  schools,  cf. 
Kruszka,  op.  cit.,  II,  p.  91  seq. 
24  Cf.  the  above  curriculum  with  those  given  in  Chapter  XV< 


326  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

ASSIMILATIVE    FORCES   AND   TENDENCIES 

It  is  plain  that  tK'e  Polish  population  in  the 
United  States  is  being  subjected  to  the  influence 
of  those  same  social  forces  that  have  brought 
about  the  complete  Americanization  of  the  Ger- 
man immigrants.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  great  influx  of  Polish  immigrants  began  only 
about  forty  years  ago,  and  that  the  immigration 
is  still  very  large.  If  Polish  immigration  had 
ceased  a  decade  ago,  it  would  not  be  long  before 
the  majority  of  the  pupils  in  Polish  schools  would 
belong  to  the  second  generation  of  descendants 
of  the  immigrants.  Even  as  it  is,  the  children 
of  this  second  generation  are  crowding  into  the 
school-rooms.  They  come  from  homes  where 
English  is  spoken,  if  not  always,  at  least  by  pref- 
erence. If  they  understand  Polish,  it  is  also  true 
that  they  understand  English  much  better;  and, 
if  their  school-room  training  is  to  be  the  most 
thorough  possible,  English  must  be  made  the 
main  medium  of  instruction.  It  is  but  a  question 
of  time  until  the  pupils  who  belong  to  this 
English-speaking  second  generation  will  consti- 
tute a  majority  in  the  Polish  schools;  and  when 
they  are  in  the  majority,  a  re-adjustment  of  the 
curriculum  will  evidently  become  a  necessity. 
The  place  of  English  will  have  to  be  enlarged. 

At  the  present  time  the  schools  are  filled  mostly 
by  the  children  of  the  immigrants,  and  from  one- 
fourth  to  one-half  of  their  time  in  the  school- 
room is,  generally  speaking,  given  to  the  study 
of  Polish,  or  to  study  in  Polish.  What  effects  of 
the  assimilative  forces  that  are  at  work  are  dis- 


Polish  Schools  327 

cernible  in  them?  and  how  do  these  effects  com- 
pare with  those  which  have  been  noted  in  the 
case  of  the  Germans?  The  inquiry  is  the  more 
interesting,  and  the  less  easy  at  the  same  time  to 
answer  off-hand,  because  of  the  tendency  of  the 
Poles  to  form  compact,  self-sufficient  settlements, 
whether  in  town  or  country. 

No  one  can  walk  through  a  group  of  Polish 
children  at  play  in  a  school-yard  or  in  the  street 
without  being  struck  by  the  fact  that  these  chil- 
dren already  form  an  English-speaking  genera- 
tion. Children  of  the  Polish  immigrants,  even 
though  living  in  closely  crowded  and  self-suffi- 
cient communities,  appear  to  take  to  English  as 
readily  as  did  the  children  of  the  German  immi- 
grants. And  this,  too,  even  though  only  Polish 
is  heard  in  the  home  and  in  the  church.  Says 
the  keenly  observant  author  of  the  Confessions 
of  a  Polish  Priest  which  has  more  than  once  been 
referred  to: 

"  Not  two  boys  out  of  twenty  employ  Polish 
in  their  conversation  with  one  another;  and  in 
all  probability  the  two  boys,  could  they  be  found, 
would  be  newly  arrived  immigrants,  or  perhaps 
but  one  of  them  would  be  such.  The  girls  are 
slower  in  abandoning  Polish  as  a  medium  of  con- 
versation. The  boys'  games,  whether  foot-ball, 
baseball,  marbles,  kite-flying,  tag,  black-man,  run- 
sheep-run,  make  the  boys  think  in  English  and 
think  quickly.  I  have  still  to  discover  what  games 
they  play  in  Poland.  The  average  Polish  boy  in 
the  vicinity  of  Irondale  [representing  a  typical 
Polish  settlement]  speaks  English  with  scarcely 
a  perceptible  Polish  accent. 


328  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

"  When  our  boys  and  girls  leave  school,  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen,  they  have  a  com- 
mand of  purer  Polish  than  that  spoken  by  their 
elders,  for  they  speak  it  with  less  dialectic  accent 
and  have  learned  at  least  the  elements  of  Polish 
Grammar.  But  the  same  boys  and  girls  five  years 
later  speak  Polish  with  less  ease.  The  young 
man  and  the  young  woman  of  twenty-two  or  three 
years  do  not  devote  an  hour  a  week  to  the  reading 
of  Polish  books  or  papers,  while  of  writing  in 
Polish  there  is  practically  none.  It  is  a  growing 
difficulty  to  find  a  young  man  or  young  woman 
equipped  with  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  Polish 
to  assume  the  duties  of  recording  secretary  in  our 
parish  and  national  societies."  25 

It  seems  not  unlikely,  then,  that  the  second 
generation  of  the  Polish  immigrants  would  be 
quite  as  completely  Americanized  as  was  the  sec- 
ond generation  of  the  German  immigrants,  were 
it  not  for  the  steady  stream  of  fresh  arrivals 
from  Poland.  Nevertheless,  the  facts  that  have 
been  cited  show  that  the  Americanization  of 
the  Polish  population  is  proceeding  rapidly  and 
irresistibly.  The  Polish  school  has  served  the 
same  purpose  here  as  did  the  German  school,  in 
the  corresponding  movement  affecting  the  Ger- 
man population.  It  has,  apparently,  delayed  the 
movement,  but,  in  reality,  it  has  forestalled  the 
danger  of  a  reaction,  by  restraining  the  move- 
ment within  the  lines  of  natural  laws,  and  has 
thus  made  the  results  all  the  more  sure  and  thor- 
ough. But  this  is  only  one  aspect  of  the  work 
of  the  Polish  parish  school.  Its  chief  work, 

25  Cath.  Standard  and  Times,  Feb.  12,  1910. 


Spanish  Schools  329 

the  work  for  which  it  was  founded  and  for  which 
it  still  stands,  has  been  to  teach  the  Polish  people 
in  America  to  be  true  to  themselves,  —  to  the 
faith,  the  patriotic  and  social  traditions,  and,  so 
far  as  may  be  also,  the  language  of  the  Father- 
land. This  ideal,  far  from  being  inconsistent 
with  American  citizenship,  is,  as  the  parallel  his- 
tory of  other  foreign  nationalities  shows,  the  very 
condition  for  its  most  effective  realization  under 
the  circumstances.  Such  has  been  the  conviction, 
from  the  first,  of  leading  Polish  priests  and  lay- 
men. For  this  ideal  the  Polish  parish  school  will 
doubtless  continue  to  stand,  long  after  the  dif- 
ferences between  its  curriculum  and  that  of  the 
other  schools  of  the  diocese  shall  have  disap- 
peared. 

SPANISH  SCHOOLS 

The  census  of  1906  gives  356,329  as  the  total 
membership  of  the  514  Spanish  and  Spanish- 
English  parishes  in  the  United  States.28  Almost 
all  of  these  parishes  are  in  New  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona, Texas  and  California.  There  are  but  few 
distinctively  Catholic  schools;  the  Catholic 
Directory  gives  only  six.  But  in  many  districts 
throughout  the  southwest  in  which  the  population 
is  entirely  or  almost  entirely  Catholic,  the  pub- 
lic schools  naturally  reflect  the  attitude  of  the  peo- 
ple towards  religion  and  assume  more  or  less  of 
a  Catholic  tone. 

2*  Census  of  1906,  p.  119. 


33 o  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 


BOHEMIAN  SCHOOLS 

About  one-third  of  the  children  who  are  of 
school  age,  in  Catholic  Bohemian  parishes,  attend 
Bohemian  parish  schools.  Considering  the 
difficulty  of  securing  teachers  for  these  schools, 
this  result  bespeaks  a  sturdy  devotion  on  the  part 
of  Bohemian  Catholics  to  the  principle  of  the 
Catholic  school. 

Chief  among  the  teaching  orders  engaged  in 
the  work  of  the  Bohemian  parish  schools  are  the 
School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  This  powerful 
organization  has  charge  of  seven  schools,  with 
forty-eight  teachers,  and  its  work  here  as  else- 
where reaches  a  very  high  degree  of  pedagogi- 
cal efficiency.  The  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of 
St.  Francis,  of  Joliet,  111.,  are  also  doing  highly 
successful  work,  and  have  charge  of  a  number  of 
Bohemian  schools.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
Bohemian  Benedictine  Sisters,  whose  mother- 
house  is  at  St.  Procopius  School,  Chicago,  which 
has  eighteen  teachers  and  over  eight  hundred 
pupils;  of  the  School  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  Mil- 
waukee; and  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  of 
Cleveland. 

In  regard  to  the  curriculum,  the  time-schedule, 
and  the  assimilative  forces  at  work  within  and 
without  the  school,  it  may  be  said  that  the  same 
conditions  which  have  been  described  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Polish  schools  exist  in  the  case  of  the 
Bohemian  schools,  and  of  those  of  other  Slavic 
nationalities. 


Lithuanian  Schools  331 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  BOHEMIAN  SCHOOLS. 27 


Diocese. 

Parishes 
without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 
Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Baltimore,  Md.  .  .  . 

I 

^6< 

Chicago,  111  

72 

3.IQ8 

Dubuque,  la  

I 

I 

7 

I^O 

Milwaukee,  Wis.  .  . 

2 

IO 

362 

New  York,  N.  Y  .  . 

I 

I 

IS 

7°?4 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  .  . 

I 

St.  Louis,  Mo  

2 

II 

C7Q 

St.  Paul,  Minn  
Cleveland,  O.  .  .  '.. 

2 

2 

6 

7 

A1 

I 

310 
2,^O7 

Dallas,  Tex  

I 

Davenport,  la.  .  . 

I 

Detroit,  Mich  

I 

Fargo,  N.  Dak  .... 

I 

Green  Bay,  Wis  .  .  . 

I 

La  Crosse,  Wis  .... 

2 

6 

26d 

Lincoln,  Neb.  .  . 

e 

Little  Rock,  Ark.  .  . 

I 

Omaha,  Neb  

2 

Pittsburgh,  Pa  .... 

I 

2 

0.6 

Richmond,  Va  .... 

I 

Sioux  City,  la  

I 

Wichita,  Kan  

I 

2 

40 

Winona,  Minn  .... 

3 

2 

IO 

i<;3 

Total  

2T. 

31 

104. 

I 

8,078 

Total  membership  of  Catholic  Bohemian  and  Bohemian-English 
parishes     154,073. 28 

LITHUANIAN  SCHOOLS 

The  organization  of  parishes  and  schools  for 
the  Lithuanians  has  been  rendered  difficult  by  the 
lack  of  both  priests  and  religious  teachers.  The 
Catholic  Directory  gives  reports  from  thirty- 
nine  parishes,  sixteen  of  which  have  schools. 
The  Archdiocese  of  Chicago  has  five  of  these 
schools,  three  of  them  being  in  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Family  of  Nazareth. 

27  Summary  of  parish  reports  in  Cath.  Dir.,  1909-10. 
25  Census  of  1906,  I,  p.  118. 


332  _ 


Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 


Recently,  a  Lithuanian  teaching  order  of  Sisters, 
known  as  the  Congregation  of  St.  Casimir,  was 
founded  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  W.  Shanahan, 
Bishop  of  Harrisburg.29  The  development  of 
this  new  community  promises  to  stimulate  greatly 
Catholic  educational  work  among  the  Lithua- 
nians, whose  number  in  the  United  States  is  being 
largely  added  to  each  year  by  immigration.  The 
following  table  shows  the  number  and  distribu- 
tion of  the  existing  schools,  teachers  and  pupils: 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  LITHUANIAN  SCHOOLS. 30 


Diocese. 

Parishes 
without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 

Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Baltimore,  Md  .... 

I 

Boston,  Mass    .... 

4. 

.] 

Chicago  111.        .  .  . 

2 

e 

II 

7 

664 

Milwaukee,  Wis.  .  . 

2 

New  York,  N.  Y..  . 

I 



Philadelphia,  Pa.    . 

c 

2 

4. 

16? 

Albany,  N.  Y  

2 

88 

Alton,  111  

I 

Belleville,  111  

I 

Brooklyn,  N.Y.  .  .  . 

2 

Cleveland  O.    .  .    . 

I 

2 

1  20 

Detroit,  Mich  

I 

Gr'ndRapids  Mich. 

I 

2 

H8 

Harrisburg,  Pa.  .  .  . 

I 

I 

a 

147 

Hartford,  Conn  .  .  . 

2 

I 

c 

3OQ 

Newark,  N.  J  

2 

Omaha,  Neb  

I 

Peoria,  111    

2 

I 

2 

112 

Pittsburgh,  Pa  .... 
Rochester,  N.  Y.  .  . 

2 
I 

2 

5 

I 

276 

Scranton,  Pa  

7 

I 

i 

S<; 

•    Total  

JQ 

16 

2t 

6 

2,IO4 

Total  membership  in  Lithuanian  and  Lithuanian-English  parishes 

82>53o.31 

28  Cath.  Standard  and  Times,  Aug.  13,  1910. 

30  Summary  of  parish  reports  in  Cath.  Directory  for  1909-10. 

K  Census  of  1906. 


Slovak  Schools  333 


SLOVAK  SCHOOLS 

The  Slovaks,  who  come  from  the  northern 
part  of  Hungary,  are  usually  Catholics.  In  the 
United  States,  they  are  found  most  numerously 
in  the  coal  and  iron  regions  of  Pennsylvania  and 
in  Cleveland,  O.32  They  belong,  some  to  the 
Latin,  and  some  to  the  Greek  Rite.33  Probably 
one-half  of  the  children  attending  school  in  Cath- 
olic Slovak  centers  are  registered  in  the  parish 
schools.  This  high  proportion  appears  to  be  due 
to  two  facts,  the  strong  attachment  of  the  people 
to  the  Catholic  faith,  as  the  result  of  their  long 
struggle  against  heresy,  and  the  generous  devot- 
edness  of  certain  of  the  teaching  orders  to  the 
work  of  educating  Slovak  children.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  the  Bohemian  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Benedict,  Chicago;  the  Sisters-Ser- 
vants of  the  Immaculate  Heart,  Scranton;  the 
Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  Joliet; 
and  the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  of  Texas. 

An  event  of  very  great  import  for  the  future 
of  Slovak  education  was  the  founding  recently, 
by  Bishop  Michael  J.  Hoban,  of  Scranton,  of  a 
distinctively  Slovak  teaching  community,  known  as 
the  Sisters  of  Sts.  Cyril  and  Methodius.34  The 
new  organization  has  already  given  promise  of 
a  rapid  growth,  and  with  the  large  accession  of 
Slovak  immigrants  every  year,  the  present  num- 

32  Cf.  Capek,  The  Slovaks  of  Hungary. 

33  Cf.  Shipman,  Greek-Catholics  in  the  U.  S.,  in  Cath.  Ency- 
clopedia, VI. 

"  Cath.  Stand,  and  Times,  Aug.  13,  1910. 


334 


Schools  oj  Foreign  Nationalities 


ber  of  Slovak  parish  schools  will,  doubtless,  con- 
tinue to  increase.  Another  distinctively  Slovak 
community,  the  Slovak  Sisters  of  Charity,  has 
charge  of  a  school  at  Braddock,  Pa. 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SLOVAK  SCHOOLS.35 


',        Diocese. 

Parishes 
without 
Schools. 

Schools. 

Religious 
Teachers. 

Lay 
Teachers. 

Pupils. 

Chicago,  111  

•z 

3 

II 

625 

Milwaukee,  Wis   .  . 

i 

I 

7Q 

New  York  N.  Y.  .  . 

I 

Philadelphia,  Pa.  .  . 
St  Louis  Mo 

s 

8 
i 

16 

2 

I 

961 

CQ 

St  Paul  Minn 

I 

Altoona,  Pa  

I 

2 

ii 

I 

C27 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

I 

Buffalo  N.  Y   

I 

Cleveland,  O  

2 

8 

29 

I 

1,896 

Columbus  O.       .  . 

I 

Harrisburg  Pa 

2 

i 

2 

68 

Hartford,  Conn.  .  . 

i 

4 

I  7O 

Leavenworth,  Kan. 

I 

Morquette,  Mich.  . 

I 

Newark,  N.  J  
Peoria,  111  

I 
I 

i 

i 

6 
5 

I 

301 

277 

Pittsburgh,  Pa  .... 
Scranton,  Pa  

9 

14 

5 
c 

18 
10 

I 

1,192 
QI3 

Syracuse,  N.  Y.  .  .  . 

i 

i 

e 

2  CO 

Wheeling,  W.  Va.  . 

i 

Total  

47 

38 

116 

O 

7,410 

Total  membership  of  Catholic  Slovak  and  Slovak-English  parishes 

78,353.3S 


GREEK  SCHOOLS 

Catholics  who  follow  the  Greek  Rite  in  the 
United  States  belong  to  a  number  of  distinct 
nationalities — the  Ruthenians  proper,  the  Slo- 

35  Summary  of  parish  reports  in  Cath.  Directory  for  1909-10. 
38  Census  of  1906,  I,  p.  119. 


Greek  Schools  335 

vaks,  and  Rumanians,  from  the  North  and  East 
of  Austria,  and  the  Croatians,  Slovanians,  Dal- 
matians, and  Slovenes  from  the  South  and 
West.37  Besides  these,  there  are  also  the  Syrians, 
and  those  Italians  who  adhere  to  the  Greek  Rite. 
The  greater  number  of  the  Greek-Catholics  come 
from  Austria,  and  belong  to  the  Slavic  race.  The 
first  Greek-Catholic  priest  to  labor  in  the  United 
States  was  the  Rev.  Ivan  Volanski,  who  organ- 
ized a  parish  at  Shenandoah,  Pa.,  in  1885,  erect- 
ing a  church  and  also  the  first  parish  school. 
With  increasing  immigration,  other  priests  came, 
and  in  1907  the  Rt.  Rev.  Stephen  Soter  Ortyn- 
ski,  a  Basilian  monk,  was  consecrated  as  the  first 
bishop  of  the  Greek  Catholics  in  the  United 
States.  By  1909,  there  were  about  140  so-called 
Ruthenian  Greek-Catholic  churches,  comprising 
those  of  the  Ruthenians  proper  and  the  Slovaks 
who  follow  the  Greek  Rite.  There  is  also,  all 
told,  a  considerable  though  lesser  number  of 
churches  belonging  to  the  other  nationalities 
mentioned  above.38 

Bishop  Ortynski,  whose  residence  is  in  Phila- 
delphia, has  done  much  to  further  the  establish- 
ment and  progress  of  Catholic  schools.  Alto- 
gether, there  are  about  fifty  parish  schools  of 
the  Ruthenians.  Besides  the  teaching  of  cate- 
chism and  Ruthenian,  the  curriculum  embraces 
the  study  of  English  and  the  other  common  bran- 
ches in  American  schools.  Lay  teachers  are  gen- 
erally employed.39  In  1911  a  colony  of  Basilian 

37  Capek,  The  Slovaks  of  Hungary,  p.  2. 
3S  Shipman,  The  Greek-Catholics  in  the  U.  S.,  in  Cath.  Ency- 
clopedia, VI. 
39  Shipman,  loc.  cit. 


336  Schools  of  Foreign  Nationalities 

Sisters,  from  Galicia,  came  to  Philadelphia  for 
the  purpose  of  devoting  themselves  to  the  work 
of  the  Ruthenian  schools.40 

There  are  also  a  few  Catholic  schools  of  the 
other  nationalities  mentioned  above,  and  here 
and  there  Sisters  are  found  in  charge  of  a  school. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis,  the  Dominican  Sisters,  and  the  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  of  Cleveland. 

PORTUGUESE  SCHOOLS 

According  to  the  Religious  census  of  1906, 
there  were  forty  Portuguese  Catholic  parishes  in 
the  United  States,  with  a  membership  of  48,227, 
but  there  is  no  mention  of  a  Catholic  school  in 
connection  with  any  of  these  parishes  in  the  dioc- 
esan reports  furnished  to  the  Catholic  Direc- 
tory. 

HUNGARIAN   (MAGYAR)   SCHOOLS 

The  census  of  1906  gives  26,472  as  the  mem- 
bership of  the  twenty  Catholic  Hungarian  par- 
ishes in  the  country.41  There  are  nearly  half  a 
million  Catholic  Hungarians  in  the  United  States, 
but  they  are  widely  scattered,  and  not  numerous 
enough  in  most  places  to  form  distinct  parishes.42 
In  the  year  1909-10,  there  were  thirty-one  par* 
ishes  and  ten  parish  schools,  with  twenty-six  re- 
ligious and  eight  lay  teachers,  and  an  attendance 

<0  Cath.  Standard  and  Times,  Dec.  9,  IQII. 

41  Not    counting    mixed    parishes,    other    than    Hungarian- 
English. 

42  Shipman,  Hungarian  Catholics  in  America,  in  Cath.  Ency- 
clopedia, VII. 


Belgian  Schools 


337 


of  i, 880.  The  three  largest  schools  are  those 
conducted  by  the  Ursuline  Sisters  at  Cleveland, 
the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  of  Cleveland,  at 
Toledo,  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  at 
Bridgeport,  Conn.43 


BELGIAN  SCHOOLS 

The  diocesan  reports  in  the  Catholic  Directory 
for  the  year  1909-10  show  the  existence  of  six 
Belgian  parishes,  with  four  schools,  twenty-three 
religious  teachers,  and  955  pupils. 

SUMMARY.44 


Parish 

Parishes 

Relig- 

Lay 

Nationality. 

Member- 

without 

Schools. 

ious 

Teach- 

Pupils. 

ship.45 

Schools. 

Teachers 

ers 

French  

1,031,^30 

27 

161 

1,4^8 

42 

63  048 

[talian         .    . 

8->6  023 

175 

48 

22O 

ci 

13  838 

Polish 

736  i  =;o 

115 

2Q3 

I    CQI 

176 

98  126 

Bohemian.  .  .  . 

154.073 

23 

31 

194 

I 

8,978 

Lithuanian.  .  . 

82,530 

39 

16 

35 

6 

2,104 

Slovak 

78   3s3 

4.7 

38 

116 

7  AID 

43Cath.  Din,  1910. 

44  In   addition   to   the   works   referred   to,   cf.   the   respective 
articles    on    the    various    foreign    nationalities    in    the    Cath. 
Encyclopedia  and  the  International  Encyclopedia ;    Lord,  The 
Italian   in   America ;    the   Italians  in  America,   in  Forum   for 
Jan.,  191 1 ;    Balch,  Our  Slavic  Fellow-Citizens ;    More,  Bohemia 
ind  the  Czechs. 

45  Census  of  1906.     Including  only  parishes  where  language 
Df  specified  nationality  is  used  either  exclusively  or  together 
with   English,    and   not   including  children   under   nine  years 
Df  age. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
SCHOOLS  FOR  THE  INDIANS,  NEGROES,  ETC. 

INDIAN  SCHOOLS 

ALONG  with  the  efforts  of  the  Church  to  Chris- 
tianize the  Indians,  there  went  hand  in  hand, 
from  the  very  beginning,  the  work  of  educating 
them  by  means  of  schools,  and  this  work  has  been 
continued  down  to  the  present  time.1  In  most 
places,  the  same  general  plan  was  followed,  the 
idea  of  Catholics  being  that  industrial  training 
should  be  given  a  prominent  place  in  the  edu- 
cation of  Indian  children,  whether  boys  or  girls. 
Outside  of  the  old  mission-systems  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans and  Jesuits,  there  was  little  attempt,  until 
a  comparatively  recent  period,  to  systematize  the 
work  or  to  centralize  its  directing  agencies. 
This  result  has  been  brought  about  gradually, 
under  the  pressure  of  hostile  instrumentalities 
bent  apparently  upon  the  extinction  of  the  Catho- 
lic Indian  school. 

President  Grant's  so-called  "  Indian  Peace 
Policy,"  proclaimed  in  the  year  1870,  inaugurated 
an  era  of  governmental  hostility  to  Catholic 
Indian  schools,  as  the  policy  was  carried  out 

1  Cf.  Cath.  School   System  in  U.  S.     Cf.  also  Chapter  VI 
supra,  The  Far  Western  States. 

338 


Indian  Schools  339 

practically,  and  eighty  thousand  Catholic  Indians 
were  thrown  under  Protestant  control.  Four 
years  later,  Archbishop  Bayley,  of  Baltimore, 
appointed  General  Charles  Ewing  as  Commis- 
sioner of  Catholic  Indian  interests,  with  whom 
the  Rev.  J.  B.  A.  Brouillet,  Vicar-General  of  the 
Diocese  of  Nesqually,  was  associated,  their  head- 
quarters being  established  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
Vigorous  efforts  were  made  from  this  newly  con- 
stituted center  of  the  work  to  combat  hostile  leg- 
islation and  unfair  administrative  discrimination, 
as  well  as  to  raise  money  by  voluntary  contribu- 
tions for  the  support  of  the  Indian  missions  and 
schools.  The  Third  Plenary  Council,  in  1884, 
completed  the  organization  of  this  central  agency 
at  the  National  Capital  by  formally  constituting 
it  as  the  Bureau  of  Catholic  Indian  Missions, 
under  the  authority  of  the  Church,  a  committee 
of  prelates  being  appointed  as  supervisors.  In 
1894,  the  Bureau  was  chartered  by  the  State  of 
Maryland,  the  Archbishops  of  Baltimore,  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  being  the  incorporators. 
The  Rev.  J.  A.  Stephan  became  Director  of  the 
Bureau  in  1884,  occupying  the  position  until  his 
death  in  1901.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  pres- 
ent Director,  Rev.  William  H.  Ketcham. 

The  work  of  the  Bureau  has  shown  that  its 
establishment  and  organization  was  the  result  of 
wisdom  no  less  than  necessity,  and  its  effective- 
ness has  constantly  increased.  With  only  a  few 
Indian  schools  remaining  under  Catholic  control, 
the  Bureau,  in  1877,  induced  the  United  States 
Government  to  inaugurate  the  "  Contract  School 
System,"  under  which  forty-three  boarding  and 


34°  Schools  for  the  Indians,  Negroes,  etc, 

seventeen  day  schools  were  established  for  Catho- 
lic Indians  by  the  year  1890,  with  Government 
allowances  amounting  to  over  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  This  success  aroused  a  storm 
of  bigoted  hostility,  under  the  influence  of  which 
Congress  repudiated  the  Contract  System  in 
1896,  announcing  its  settled  policy  to  be,  "to  make 
no  appropriation  whatever  for  education  in  any 
sectarian  school,"  In  the  year  1900,  appropria- 
tions were  accordingly  declared  at  an  end.  Cath- 
olic Indian  schools  were  thus  again  suddenly 
thrown  upon  the  charity  of  the  Catholic  public. 
The  Bureau  struggled  hard  to  meet  the  situation, 
which  seemed  almost  hopeless.  The  raising  of 
several  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year  was  a 
gigantic  task,  and  its  accomplishment  would  have 
been  impossible  except  for  the  providential  gen- 
erosity of  Mother  M.  Katherine  Drexel,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Francis  A.  Drexel,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
has  contributed  over  one-half  of  the  amount  dis- 
bursed by  the  Bureau  in  recent  years.  Recogni- 
tion of  certain  fundamental  rights  of  Indian  par- 
ents was  also,  in  time,  secured  from  the  Federal 
Administration.  Chief  among  these  rights  was 
that  embodied  in  the  ruling  by  President  Roose- 
velt, in  1904,  that  Indian  Tribal  Funds  could  be 
drawn  on  by  Catholic  Indians  for  the  education 
of  their  children  in  the  mission  schools,  a  ruling 
that  was  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  The  following  table  shows  the 
amount  of  money  expended  by  the  Bureau  during 
the  year  1907,  and  also  the  sources  from  which 
the  funds  were  derived.  The  table  is  illustrative 
of  the  means  through  which  the  support  of  the 


Indian  Schools  341 

Indian    schools    and   missions    has   been    secured 
within  recent  years : 

Preservation      Society,       Marquette 

League,  bequests  and  donations.  .  $11,850.90 

The  annual  Lenten  Collection 63,749.50 

Indian  Tribal   Funds 28,073.51 

Mother  M.  Katherine  Drexel 127,843.40 


$231,517.31 

In  addition,  the  aid  to  the  schools,  during  the 
same  year,  resulting  from  the  issuance  of  rations 
for  the  pupils,  may  be  computed  at  $20,000. 

Besides  its  work  of  providing  means  for  the 
support  of  the  schools,  the  Bureau  has,  through 
the  exercise  of  its  powers  of  supervision  and  in- 
spection, brought  them  closer  together  and  in- 
duced a  greater  uniformity  in  studies  and  meth- 
ods, thus  raising  the  standard  of  many  of  the 
schools.  Father  Stephan,  during  the  seventeen 
years  he  was  connected  with  the  Bureau,  devoted 
much  of  his  time  to  this  work  of  inspection  and 
supervision,  and  his  efforts  in  this  way  have  been 
ably  continued  by  his  successor. 

For  the  census-year  1910,  the  report  of  the 
Bureau  shows  the  existence  of  55  Catholic  board- 
ing schools  and  8  day  schools,  with  an  enroll- 
ment of  4,924  pupils.  The  school  workers  num- 
bered 606,  and  included  57  priests,  72  Brothers, 
373  Sisters,  and  104  lay  teachers  and  employes. 
The  Catholic  Indian  population  was  61,456,  out 
of  a  total  Indian  population  of  about  300,000. 
Catholic  Indians  in  Government  schools  num- 
bered 6,010. 


342  Schools  for  the  Indians,  Negroes,  etc. 

Catholic  Indian  schools  have  thus,  in  spite  of 
apparent!^"  insurmountable  obstacles,  continued 
to  exist,  and  have  even  increased  in  number  and 
efficiency.  Much  of  the  credit  for  this  must  also 
be  given  to  the  religious  teachers,  who  have 
devoted  themselves  unselfishly  to  the  work,  in 
spite  of  the  hardships  it  necessarily  entails. 
Jesuit  priests  and  brothers  have  been  foremost 
here,  among  the  teaching  orders  of  men.  Of  the 
communities  of  women  engaged  in  the  work,  the 
Sisters  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  were  organized 
by  Mother  M.  Katherine  Drexel,  in  1889,  for 
the  express  object  of  educating  the  Indians  and 
colored  people.  The  novitiate  and  mother-house 
is  at  Cornwells,  Pa.,  and  the  Sisters  now  number 
143.  The  Ursulines  of  Montana  have  likewise 
been  prominent  in  Indian  school  work,  as  also 
the  Sisters  of  Divine  Providence  of  Texas,  and 
several  branches  of  the  Franciscan  Sisters.2 


SCHOOLS  FOR  COLORED  CATHOLICS 

The  history  of  organized  educational  work 
among  negro  Catholics  began  with  the  founding 
of  the  first  community  of  colored  Sisters  in  Balti- 
more, in  i825.3  The  new  religious  body  was 

2  Reports  of  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Cath.  Indian 
Missions ;     Our     Cath.    Indian     Missions — a    paper    by    Rev. 
Wm.  H.  Kctcham,  Director  of  the  Bureau,  at  the  Cath.  Mis- 
sionary Congress,  Chicago,  1908:   Our  Indian  Schools— a  paper 
by  Rev.  C.  W.  Currier,  at  Fourth  Ann.  Meeting  of  Cath.  Ed. 
Assn.,    Milwaukee,    1907;     Cath.    Encyclopedia,    VII,    art.    on 
Indian   Missions,   Bureau   of:    Ann.    Reports   of  the   Mission 
Work  among  the  Negroes  and  Indians,  by  the  Members  of  the 
Commission.     See  also  Chapters  II  and  III  supra  on  Religious 
Communities,  and  Chapter  VI   on  The  Far  Western   States. 

3  Cf.  Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  254. 


Schools  for  Colored  Catholics  343 

approved  by  the  Holy  See  in  1831  under  the  title 
of  the  Oblate  Sisters  of  Providence.  The  growth 
of  the  community  has  been  slow,  but  it  has  fur- 
nished a  very  considerable  supply  of  efficient 
teachers  for  the  colored  schools.  In  1910,  the 
Sisters  numbered  139,  and  had  charge  of  two 
schools  and  two  academies  in  the  Archdiocese  of 
Baltimore,  two  schools  in  the  Archdiocese  of  St. 
Louis,  a  school  in  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and  sev- 
eral schools  in  Cuba. 

Another  community  of  colored  Sisters,  known 
as  the  Congregation  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Family,  was  founded  in  New  Orleans  in  1842, 
and  its  development  has  had  an  important  influ- 
ence upon  educational  work  among  colored  Cath- 
olics. The  number  of  Sisters,  in  1910,  was  105, 
who  were  in  charge  of  an  academy  and  thirteen 
schools  in  the  Archdiocese  of  New  Orleans,  two 
schools  in  Galveston,  Texas,  and  one  in  Houston. 

The  Sisters  of  Mt.  Carmel,  of  New  Orleans, 
opened  a  colored  school  there  as  early  as  1838. 
They  took  charge  subsequently  of  several  other 
schools  for  colored  children  in  the  Archdiocese. 

Franciscan  Sisters  from  England  who  estab- 
lished themselves  in  Baltimore,  in  the  year  1881, 
and  later  on  at  Richmond  and  Norfolk,  aim 
chiefly  at  work  among  the  colored  people,  and 
have  several  schools  for  colored  Catholics.  In 
1910,  there  were  58  of  the  Sisters  in  this  country. 

The  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose  mother- 
house  is  at  San  Antonio,  Texas,  are  also  specially 
devoted  to  educational  work  among  the  colored 
people,  and  have  a  number  of  colored  schools. 

The   Sisters   of   the    Blessed   Sacrament   were 


344  Schools  for  the  Indians,  Negroes,  etc. 

established  for  the  education  of  both  Indians  and 
colored  people.  They  have  a  flourishing  acad- 
emy and  an  industrial  school  for  colored  girls  in 
Nashville,  Tennessee. 

Several  other  religious  communities  have 
engaged  in  the  work  of  the  colored  schools.  One 
of  the  great  drawbacks  is  the  poverty  of  the  col- 
ored people.  The  support  of  the  school  thus  be- 
comes a  burden  that  must  be  borne  by  others  than 
the  parents  of  the  pupils,  or  the  parishes  to  which 
the  parents  and  children  belong.  A  collection  is 
taken  up  annually  in  all  the  Catholic  churches  of 
the  United  States  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indian 
and  Colored  Missions,  and  the  total  usually 
amounts  to  about  $100,000.  A  considerable  share 
of  this  goes  to  the  support  of  schools  for  colored 
children. 

There  are  about  150,000  colored  Catholics  in 
the  United  States,  with  119  Catholic  schools,  and 
an  attendance  of  about  8,000.  In  the  Archdio- 
cese of  New  Orleans,  there  were,  in  1907,  80,000 
colored  Catholics  and  52  schools,  with  an  attend- 
ance of  23 1 2.4 

INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS 

In  the  year  1910,  there  were  117  Catholic 
industrial  schools  in  the  United  States,  with  about 
15,000  pupils.  Various  teaching  orders  have 
charge  of  these  schools,  and  many  of  them  will 
compare  favorably  with  the  best  non-Catholic 
institutions  of  the  kind.  In  some  instances,  they 

4  Annual  Reports  of  the  Mission  Work  among  the  Negroes 
and  Indians;    Cath.  Directory;  Cath.  World,  articles  on  Negro. 


Orphanages — Schools  for  :he  Deaf  and  Dumb    345 

have  a  reformatory  purpose  in  view.  Many  girls' 
schools,  also,  have  manual  training  classes,  espe- 
cially in  the  upper  grades.5 

ORPHANAGES 

In  1910  there  were  258  Catholic  orphan  asy- 
lums in  the  United  States,  in  which  45,343  chil- 
dren were  being  educated.  Religious  communi- 
ties are  usually  in  charge.  These  institutions  are 
found  in  all  the  dioceses,  and  also  in  all  the  larger 
cities.  A  number  are  endowed  in  whole  or  in 
part,  but  most  of  them  depend  upon  the  continual 
charity  of  the  faithful.6 

SCHOOLS  FOR  THE  DEAF  AND  DUMB 

Catholic  schools  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  in  the 
United  States  number  13,  with  an  enrollment  of 
1,002  pupils.  Four  of  these  are  in  the  State  of  New 
York.  Most  of  these  schools  are  in  charge  of 
religious  communities  of  women,  and  the  greater 
number  of  the  pupils  are  girls,  as  there  is  no  com- 
munity of  men  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  educa- 
tion of  the  boys.  These  are  generally  obliged, 
in  consequence,  in  order  to  obtain  an  education,  to 
attend  institutions  that  are  non-Catholic.  There 
are  upwards  of  15,000  Catholic  deaf  in  the  coun- 
try. The  number  of  non-Catholic  schools  for 
the  deaf  is  I26.7 

5Cath.  Dir.,  1910;    Hist.  Cath.  Ch.  in  the  U.  S.,  Vol.  II. 

6Cath.  Dir.,  1910. 

7  Rep.  of  Fourth  Ann.  Meeting  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  paper  of 
Rev.  F.  A.  Moeller,  S.J.,  on  Ed.  Status  of  the  Cath.  Deaf  in 
U.  S.,  p.  37;  Cath.  Encyclopedia,  V,  art.  on  Ed.  of  Deaf  and 
Dumb. 


CHAPTER  XV 

CURRENT  MOVEMENTS  AND  PROBLEMS 

THE  CURRICULUM 
THE  GENERAL  SITUATION 

A'  STUDY  of  the  curriculum  of  the  Catholic 
school  will  show  the  concurrent  influence,  in  many 
instances,  of  the  three  essential  factors  in  its 
organization  and  administration  that  have  been 
considered, — the  parish,  the  diocese,  and  the 
religious  community.1  The  influence  of  all  three 
is  often  discernible  in  the  framing  of  the  curric- 
ulum. Certain  subjects  like  catechism,  bible- 
history,  and  singing  may  be  prescribed  by  the  dio- 
cese, with  a  given  time-minimum  for  each;  the 
pastor,  in  view  of  local  needs  or  conditions,  may 
insist  on  certain  studies;  while  the  regulation  of 
many  of  the  subjects  is  generally  left  to  the  reli- 
gious superiors.  Most  often,  the  determination  of 
the  curriculum  is  left  to  the  religious  superiors 
and  the  pastor,  the  diocesan  authority  not  inter- 
fering, except  in  the  matter  of  religious  instruc- 
tion. The  condition  is  not  unlike  that  which 
obtains  in  the  public  school  system,  where  the 
framing  of  the  curriculum  by  the  educational 

1  See    Chapter  VIII,    Organization   and    Administration. 
346 


The  Curriculum  347 

officers  of  the  state  or  county  is  frequently  sub- 
ject to  revision  at  the  hands  of  the  city  or  dis- 
trict school  board.  The  pastor,  in  the  Catholic 
system,  has  much  the  same  control  as  the  city  or 
district  board  in  the  public  school  system.  But 
very  often  he  maintains  a  passive  attitude  with 
regard  to  the  curriculum,  and  permits  his  religious 
teachers  to  carry  out  their  own  plans. 

Each  of  the  larger  religious  communities  has 
its  own  school  curriculum,  to  which  it  is  bound 
more  or  less  by  rule,  tradition,  or  custom  derived 
from  a  long  experience.  Each  community  has  its 
own  traditions,  also,  about  methods  of  teaching. 
Fundamentally,  there  is,  fortunately,  no  very 
great  difference  between  either  the  respective 
methods  or  the  curricula.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  larger  and  more  progressive  communities. 
Subjected  to  common  conditions,  and  face  to  face 
with  common  educational  needs  or  demands,  the 
traditional  curriculum  of  each  community  has 
undergone  a  development  which  has  resulted  in 
making  them  all  alike,  except  in  certain  matters 
of  detail. 

The  differences,  however,  while  not  so  impor- 
tant in  themselves,  have,  nevertheless,  been  a  con- 
stant source  of  inconvenience  to  pastors  and  par- 
ents, as  well  as  to  the  diocesan  educational 
authorities.  In  the  matter  of  text-books,  for 
instance,  there  has  been  much  confusion.  In 
cities,  the  changing  of  schools  by  pupils  is  fre- 
quent, and,  inasmuch  as  each  community  may 
have  its  own  series  of  chosen  text-books,  it  has 
often  happened  that  pupils,  on  entering  another 
school,  would  find  themselves  under  the  necessity 


348  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

of  purchasing  an  entirely  different  set  of  text- 
books. "  There  is  not  an  instance  in  the  Diocese, 
as  far  as  we  can  now  see,"  said  the  Fort  Wayne 
School  Board,  in  1879,  "where  a  pupil  can  take 
a  full  set  of  text-books  from  one  congregation 
and  use  them  all  in  another.2  This  condition  has 
caused  an  altogether  unjustifiable  expense  to  Cath- 
olic parents.  Furthermore,  the  examination  and 
inspection  of  schools  was  seen  to  have  little  value 
for  purposes  of  comparison,  unless  the  time-allot- 
ment of  the  various  subjects  were  the  same  in  each 
school.  Hence,  it  has  happened  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  diocesan  board  of  education,  and 
the  regular  visitation  and  examination  of  schools, 
which  necessarily  involved  an  official  comparison 
of  teachers,  methods,  and  schools,  has  tended 
inevitably  towards  the  adoption  by  each  diocese  of 
a  common  curriculum,  with  well  defined  subject- 
matter  and  fixed  time-allotments,  and  with  a  single 
series  of  text-books  for  all  the  parish  schools. 

Many  of  the  dioceses  have,  within  recent  years, 
adopted  such  standards  of  uniformity.  Phila- 
delphia took  the  lead  in  the  matter,  for  the 
Philadelphia  system  of  inspection  and  super- 
vision makes  strongly  for  diocesan  uniformity 
in  everything  pertaining  to  the  schools.  In  the 
prescribed  courses  of  studies  adopted  there  about 
fifteen  years  ago,  the  subject-matter  of  the  work 
of  each  grade  is  defined  in  detail,  and  there  are 
suggestions  as  to  the  best  methods  to  employ  in 
each  branch  and  grade;  but  no  text-books  are 
prescribed,  and  no  time-limits  imposed,  it  being 
left  to  the  principals  to  arrange  programs  of  rec- 

2  Report  for  1878-9,  p.  5. 


The  Curriculum  349 

itations  for  the  several  classes  in  the  schools  over 
which  they  preside.  Some  dioceses,  on  the  other 
hand,  prescribe  the  series  of  text-books  to  be  used 
in  the  schools;  and  some  have  gone  further  still, 
and  fixed  the  recitation-periods  for  each  subject 
through  all  the  grades  of  the  course. 

PRESENT   AND    FUTURE    PROBLEMS 

It  is  evident  that  the  movement  towards  uni- 
formity is  still  only  in  process  of  development. 
All  Catholic  educators  agree  as  to  the  need  of 
greater  diocesan  uniformity.  There  is  lack  of 
agreement,  however,  as  to  just  how  far  such  uni- 
formity should  go,  and  as  to  just  what  means 
should  be  made  use  of  in  order  best  to  bring 
about  as  much  uniformity  as  is  needful.  One 
extreme  view  is  that  nothing  more  is  desirable 
than  a  brief  prescribed  course  of  study,  con- 
taining the  matter  that  a  school  should  cover 
each  year,  together  with  a  thorough  visitation  of 
all  the  schools  once  a  year,  everything  beyond 
this  being  left  to  the  regulation  of  the  pastors 
and  religious  superiors.  Another  view  is,  that 
the  curriculum,  with  all  that  it  involves, — sub- 
jects of  study,  methods  of  teaching,  time-sched- 
ules, and  text-books, — ought  to  be  completely 
regulated  by  the  diocesan  educational  authority. 
Between  these  two  extremes,  Catholic  educators 
entertain  varying  shades  of  opinion.  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  advocates  of 
greater  diocesan  uniformity  have  been  gaining 
ground.  As  in  the  case  of  the  public  school  sys- 
tem, the  tide  is  running  strongly  towards 


3  So  Current  Movements  and  Probelms 

increased  centralization.  Difference  of  condi- 
tions between  district  and  district,  and  between 
city,  town,  and  country,  argues  forcibly  in  favor 
of  a  diversified  or  at  least  a  flexible  curriculum. 
The  tendency  is,  nevertheless,  the  other  way. 
The  final  result  will  probably  be  reached  sooner 
in  the  Catholic  system  than  in  the  public  school 
system,  because  the  diocese  can,  whenever  It 
wishes,  impose  its  will  in  this  respect  upon  the 
teachers  and  the  local  authorities,  whereas  the 
state  educational  authorities  most  often  can  not 
do  this. 

Generally  speaking,  the  curriculum  of  the 
Catholic  school,  outside  of  the  matter  of  religious 
instruction,  does  not  differ  very  greatly  from  that 
of  the  corresponding  public  schools  in  the  same 
place.  There  are  two  reasons  for  this.  One  is, 
the  desire  of  the  pastor  and  Catholic  teachers  to 
have  the  parish  school  recognized  as  fully  abreast 
of  the  public  schools,  so  that  parents  may  not 
have  cause  to  complain.  Another  reason  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  same  general  causes 
that  have  operated  to  bring  about  changes  in  the 
public  school  curriculum,  have  had  influence  also 
upon  the  course  of  studies  of  the  Catholic  school 
— an  influence  not  so  great,  perhaps,  but  still 
direct  and  constant.  For  purposes  of  compar- 
ison, time-schedules  of  the  curricula  of  some  repre- 
sentative parish  schools  are  here  given,  and, 
below  these,  the  time-schedule  of  a  series  of  typi- 
cal public  schools.  The  first  school  considered 
is  at  Michigan  City,  Tnd.,  in  the  Diocese  of  Fort 
Wayne,  and  is  conducted  by  the  School  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  the  largest  and  most  wide-spread 


The  Curriculum  351 

of  the  teaching  orders  of  women.  The  curricu- 
lum is  typical  of  the  work  of  this  Order,  which 
counts  about  four  thousand  Sisters.  This  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  time-schedule  adopted  several  years 
ago  for  parish  schools  in  the  Diocese  of  Pitts- 
burgh. The  third  is  a  schedule  prescribed  for  all 
the  public  grammar  schools  in  the  District  of 
Columbia, 


TIME-SCHEDULE  OF  A  TYPICAL  PARISH  SCHOOL.* 


ISt 

Grade 

2d 

Grade 

3d 
Grade 

4th 
Grade 

5th 
Grade 

6th 
Grade 

7th 
Grade 

8th 
Grado 

Religion  

2IO 

2IO 

150 

150 

150 

ISO 

ISO 

ISO 

Writing  

150 

ISO 

150 

150 

1  2O 

1  20 

1  20 

1  2O 

Music  

150 

IS° 

1  2O 

QO 

QO 

60 

60 

60 

Drawing  

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

Physiology  

60 

60 

QO 

Needlework  

00 

60 

60 

60 

60 

Geography   

I  'JO 

ISO 

ISO 

1  20 

QO 

QO 

Mathematics: 
Arithmetic  .... 
Algebra  

270 

270 

240 

2IO 

240 

240 

240 

1  2O 
I2O 

History  and  Civics 

60 

1  20 

ISO 

ISO 

Language  &  Com- 
position   

150 

150 

150 

2IO 

Grammar  &  Com- 
position   

2IO 

60 

2IO 

240 

Reading  &  Litera- 
ture   

240 

240 

2IO 

ISO 

ISO 

ISO 

ISO 

ISO 

Spelling  

ISO 

iso 

ISO 

QO 

QO 

60 

60 

60 

German  

ISO 

iso 

ISO 

Supplementary.  .  . 

150 

150 

150 

pO 

Total    minutes 
per  week.  .  .  . 

1530 

1530 

1530 

1410 

I380 

1410 

1560 

1620 

8  Michigan  City,  Ind.,  1910.  This  school  is  in  a  "mixed" 
English-speaking  and  German  parish  and  has  an  attendance 
of  360. 

4  The  Diocesan  Plan  calls  for  14  weeks  of  algebra.  This  is 
taken  during  the  latter  part  of  the  term. 


352  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

TIME-SCHEDULE  OF  PARISH   SCHOOLS  m  DIOCESE  OF  PITTSBURGH. 5 


ISt 

Grade 

2d 

Grade 

3d 
Grade 

4th 
Grade 

5th 
Grade 

6th 
Grade 

7th 
Grade 

8th 
Grade 

Religion  

2C.O 

2<CO 

2<O 

2C.O 

2OO 

2OO 

ICQ 

T  CO 

Spoken  &  Written 
English  

23O 

23O 

23O 

2^O 

2C.O 

2";o 

27O 

27O 

Reading  &  Litera- 
ture     

42O 

420 

74.r 

27C 

20? 

2OO 

2OO 

2OO 

Arithmetic  

2OO 

200 

2OO 

27< 

2c,o 

2OO 

2OO 

2OO 

Algebra  

60 

60 

Geography  

7C 

IOO 

I2S 

150 

I  C.O 

IOO 

History  

3O 

no 

I  2O 

I^O 

ISO 

Drawing 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

DO 

no 

DO 

oo 

oo 

Physiology  &  Hy- 
giene .  . 

CO 

CO 

CQ 

A.O 

AO 

AC 

40 

40 

EPm'nt'ry  Science 
Civics  

50 

50 

50 

3° 
2O 

30 
20 

30 
2O 

3° 
20 

40 

40 

Vocal  Music  
Recess  

IOO 
IOO 

IOO 
IOO 

IOO 
IOO 

IOO 
IOO 

IOO 
IOO 

IOO 
IOO 

IOO 
IOO 

IOO 
IOO 

Total     minutes 
t.  per  week  .... 

1500 

1500 

1500 

1500 

1500 

1500 

1560 

1500 

'Adopted  provisionally  Nov.  25,  1907. 


ATTENDANCE 

GROWTH  OF  PARISH  SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE 

The  enrollment  in  the  parish  schools  during 
the  year  1909-10  was,  according  to  the  Catholic 
Directory,  1,237,251;  and  the  Catholic  popula- 
tion of  the  United  States  the  same  year  was 
14, 347, 027. 6  The  Directory  has  shown  a  steady 
increase  in  the  school  attendance  from  year  to 
year.  It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  the 
exact  ratio  of  this  increase  to  that  of  the  Catholic 
population.  An  examination  of  the  data  fur- 

8  For  the  time  and  method  of  gathering  the  statistics  pub- 
lished in  the  Directory,  see  p.  306,  note. 


Attendance  353 

TIME-SCHEDULE  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  DISTRICT  or  COLUMBIA.' 


ISt 

Grade 

2d 
Grade 

3d 
Grade 

4th 
Grade 

5th 

Grado 

6th 
Grade 

7th 
Grade 

8th 
Grade 

Writing  

60 

75 

90 

75 

5° 

5° 

15 

i? 

Music  

60 

60 

60 

Co 

60 

60 

60 

60 

Physical  Culture  . 
Drawing,   Art,   & 
Construct  
Physiology  

5° 

QO 
1C 

5° 
90 

1C 

75 
90 

1C 

75 
90 

1C 

75 
90 

1C 

75 
90 

1C 

75 
90 

1C 

75 

90 
i<r 

M.  T.  &  House- 
hold Arts  

60 

60 

60 

QO 

oo 

QO 

Geography  

90 

150 

150 

ICO 

I  en 

I  "JO 

Nature  Study  
Science    

75 

75 

75 

75 

75 

60 

60 

60 

Mathematics: 
Arithmetic  
Algebra           .  . 

90 

IOO 

150 

150 

200 

2OO 

20O 

150 

QO 

History  and  Civics 
Language  &  Com- 
position 

75 

CO 

75 

IOO 

75 
1  20 

75 
1  20 

90 
1  20 

120 

ICQ 

ISO 

I  2O 

Grammar  &  Com- 
position       

2OO 

24O 

Reading  &  Litera- 
ture 

3OO 

22O 

240 

200 

200 

1  2O 

1  2O 

QO 

Spelling   &   Word 
Analysis  

60 

60 

60 

60 

60 

80 

Unassigned  Time  . 

85 

90 

140 

135 

95 

IOO 

55 

45 

Total     minutes 
per  week  .... 

950 

1050 

1340 

1340 

1340 

1340 

1340 

1370 

7  In  1910. 

nished  by  the  Directory  shows  that,  on  the  basis 
of  these  data,  the  ratio  of  Catholic  school  attend- 
ance to  the  total  Catholic  population  is  about 
the  same  now  as  it  was  ten  years  ago,  and  also 
that  it  was  substantially  the  same  as  now  six- 
teen years  ago.  This  argues  a  very  rapid  Cath- 
olic school  growth.  To  hold  firmly  the  actual 
attendance,  while  providing  ample  facilities  for 
the  enrollment  of  new  pupils  corresponding  to  the 


354  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

rapid  growth  of  the  Catholic  population — the 
means  for  all  this  being,  at  the  same  time,  pro- 
vided by  voluntary  contributions — has  been  a 
gigantic  task,  and  the  most  generous  loyalty  of 
American  Catholics  to  the  principles  of  Catholic 
education  might  well  have  proved  to  be  no  more 
than  equal  to  it.  It  is  not,  unfortunately,  possi- 
ble to  carry  the  examination  back  farther  than 
about  sixteen  years,  for  the  data  furnished  by  the 
older  Directory  are  too  incomplete,  the  reports 
from  some  of  the  dioceses  being  lacking. 

NUMBER  OF    CATHOLIC     PUPILS    IN    PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS 

A  question  of  no  less  interest  is  that  of  the 
number  of  Catholic  pupils  attending  public 
schools.  The  answer  to  this  question  can  at  pres- 
ent be  approached  only  in  an  indirect  way,  and 
the  easiest  way  is  by  ascertaining  the  ratio  of 
the  total  Catholic  school  attendance  to  the  Catho- 
lic population,  and  then  comparing  this  with  the 
ratio  of  the  total  school  attendance  in  the  coun- 
try to  the  total  population.  The  difference 
might  be  assumed  to  represent,  roughly,  the  num- 
ber of  Catholic  children  attending  non-Catholic 
or  public  schools.  Some  reservations  must  be 
made,  however,  in  instituting  this  comparison. 
It  is  assumed  that  the  difference  between  the 
ratios  would  represent  the  number  of  Catholic 
pupils  attending  the  public  schools,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  all  Catholic  pupils  not  attending  the 
parish  schools  are  pupils  of  the  public  schools. 
But  this  is  not  necessarily  the  case.  It  might  well 


Attendance  355 

be  that  Catholic  children,  in  certain  places,  would 
be  put  to  work  sooner  than  non-Catholic  children 
generally  in  the  same  places.  This  condition 
would  have  the  effect  of  diminishing  the  Catholic 
school  attendance,  without  such  diminution  really 
indicating  any  corresponding  increase  of  Catholic 
pupils  in  the  public  schools.  There  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  this  very  condition  does  obtain  in 
many  places,  and  this  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind 
in  comparing  parish  and  public  school  attendance. 

Again,  a  source  of  inaccuracy  occurs  in  the  get- 
ting of  the  figures  for  the  Catholic  population. 
It  may  be  assumed  that  the  figures  for  school 
enrollment  furnished  annually  by  the  Catholic 
Directory  are  substantially  accurate.  But  its 
figures  for  the  Catholic  population  have  been 
gravely  called  in  question.  Nor  do  the  compilers 
claim  that  these  figures  are  more  than  an  approx- 
imation to  the  truth,  although  they  are  supplied 
by  the  diocesan  chanceries.  They  are  justly 
regarded  as  too  low.  Still,  for  the  purpose  in 
view  here,  they  may  be  regarded  as  accurate 
enough.  They  probably  represent,  within  fair 
limits  of  accuracy,  the  number  of  regular  church- 
going  Catholics,  who  alone  can  be  depended  on 
to  send  their  children  to  the  parish  schools,  or 
indeed  can  be  expected  to  do  so.  Catholics  who 
are  such  merely  by  reason  of  baptism  should  not 
be  numbered  among  those  whose  children  may  be 
practically  expected  to  attend  Catholic  schools. 

It  is  convenient,  in  considering  the  question  of 
school  attendance,  to  take  the  scholastic  year 
1908-9,  since  the  latest  report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  goes  no  farther  than  that 


356  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

year.  It  is  found,  then,  that  the  number  of  chil- 
dren enrolled  in  Catholic  parish  schools  during 
the  year  1908-9  was  8.42  per  cent  of  the  Catho- 
lic population.8  The  number  of  pupils  receiving 
elementary  instruction,  in  primary  and  grammar 
grades,  in  all  schools  throughout  the  country, 
both  public  and  private,  the  same  year,  was  19.92 
per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  United  States.9 
This  second  ratio  is  two  and  one-third  times  as 
great  as  the  former;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
number  of  children  attending  the  parish  schools 
is  only  three-sevenths  of  what  it  ought  to  be, 
judged  by  the  norm  of  school  attendance  gener- 
ally throughout  the  country;  and,  instead  of  an 
attendance  of  1,197,193  in  1908-9,  the  parish 
schools  ought  to  have  had  an  attendance  of 
2,835,701.  Does  this  mean  that  1,638,508 
Catholic  children — represented  by  the  difference 
between  these  numbers — were  attending  the  pub- 
lic schools?  No;  for  it  is  certain  that  children  of 
the  poorer  Catholics,  especially  the  immigrants, 
in  many  places  quit  school  sooner  than  the  children 
of  non-Catholics  in  the  same  places.  Yet,  the 
figures  undoubtedly  do  mean  that  a  very  large 
proportion  of  Catholic  children,  probably  more 
than  a  million,  attend  the  public  schools. 

8  Cath.  Dir.  for  1909. 

9  Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed.,  1910,  Vol.  II,  p.  xviii  Introduction,  and 
pp.  669,  670. 


Attendance  357 


WHY   CATHOLIC   CHILDREN   ATTEND  THE   PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS 

In  attempting  to  account  for  this  large  enroll- 
ment of  Catholic  children  in  the  public  schools, 
the  lack  of  Catholic  schools  in  country  districts 
very  generally  must  be  given  foremost  consider- 
ation. No  reliable  estimate  of  the  number  of 
Catholics  living  in  country  districts  can  at  pres- 
ent be  made,  but  the  number  must  be,  in  the 
aggregate,  very  large.  About  one-half  the  pub- 
lic school  enrollment  is  in  country  or  district 
schools,  and  sixty-seven  per  cent  of  the  public 
school  enrollment  during  the  year  1907-8  was  in 
schools  outside  of  cities  containing  four  thousand 
population  and  over.10  The  Catholic  population, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  concentrated  in  the  cities 
and  larger  towns.  In  villages  and  country  dis- 
tricts, where  the  Catholic  population  is  small  or 
scattered,  parish  schools  are  in  most  cases 
scarcely  possible.  Probably  from  one-fourth  to 
one-third  of  the  whole  number  of  Catholic  chil- 
dren live  outside  of  cities  containing  four  thou- 
sand population  and  over.11 

If  a  fair  allowance  Ls  made  for  the  number  of 
Catholic  children  attending  public  schools  on 
account  of  the  condition  just  mentioned,  it  will 
appear  that  the  number  of  those  who  are  drawn 
to  the  public  schools  by  reason  of  other  causes 
cannot  be  so  very  large,  and  that  it  is  probably 
well  under  half  a  million.  The  Superintendent  of 

10  Rep.  Comm.  of  Ed.,  1909.  p.  599. 

11  Cf.  Rep.  of  Fifth  Ann.  Meeting  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  46. 


358  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

Catholic  Schools  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Philadel- 
phia has  summed  up  the  causes  which  bring  Cath- 
olic children  to  the  public  schools  as  follows : 

"i.  In  sparsely  settled  districts  a  Catholic 
school  is  impossible. 

"2.  In  certain  small  towns  Catholics  are  so  few 
that  their  resources  are  inadequate  to  build  and 
support  a  school. 

"3.  Even  in  those  places  where  Catholics  are 
numerous  the  debt  on  the  Church  property  is  so 
great  that  common  prudence  dictates  that  a  pas- 
tor should  not  increase  his  burden,  already  too 
heavy,  by  the  erection  of  a  parish  school. 

"4.  In  large  cities  where  ground  is  valuable  a 
newly-organized  parish  can  do  little  more,  at 
first,  than  provide  for  the  erection  of  a  church. 

"5.  Sometimes  the  parish  school  is  too  small 
for  all  the  children  of  the  parish  and  many  must 
of  necessity  go  elsewhere. 

"6.  Again,  the  school  may  be  large  enough  to 
house  all  the  children  of  the  parish,  but  the  par- 
ish revenue  is  inadequate  to  educate  all,  and  the 
pastor  limits  the  number  in  attendance  so  as  to 
keep  within  his  resources. 

"7.  In  certain  instances  the  Catholic  population 
of  a  place  is  in  the  majority,  the  environment  is 
Catholic,  and  hence  neither  priest  nor  people  feel 
that  a  separate  school  is  a  necessity. 

"8.  A  certain  proportion  of  Catholic  children 
attend  non-Catholic  schools  in  order  to  prepare 
more  directly  to  teach  in  the  public  schools. 

"9.  Catholics  often  attend  non-Catholic  secon- 
dary schools  because  of  the  inability  of  the 
Church  at  present  to  provide  everywhere  Catho- 
lic high  schools. 


Attendance  359 

"10.  Some  attend  secular  high  schools,  col- 
leges, and  universities  because  Catholic  schools  of 
the  same  grade  are  not  near  at  hand. 

"i  i.  Sometimes  a  pastor  is  indifferent  to  Catho- 
lic education,  and  his  people,  reflecting  his  atti- 
tude, send  their  children  to  the  public  schools. 

"12.  Some  people  are  imbued  with  the  idea 
that  the  secular  school  is  superior  to  the  Catholic 
school. 

"13.  Some  again  in  their  reaching  for  social 
prestige  and  advancement  think  these  reputed 
advantages  can  be  best  secured  in  secular  insti- 
tutions." 

And  he  concludes  very  justly: 

"  When  these  reasons  are  given  due  consider- 
ation it  will  be  quite  well  understood  why  thou- 
sands of  Catholic  children  attend  non-Catholic 
schools.  Many  are  there  with  sufficient  reason, 
and  comparatively  few  are  there  in  open  defiance 
of  the  legislation  of  the  Church.  Keeping  in 
view  the  above  explanation  for  the  non-attend- 
ance at  Catholic  schools  of  so  many  of  our  chil- 
dren, we  may  look  forward  hopefully  and  confi- 
dently to  the  time  as  not  far  distant  when  every 
Catholic  child  in  the  United  States  may  enjoy 
his  true  inheritance — a  Catholic  education."12 

12  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Philip  R.  McDevitt,  Report  for  1910,  p.  17. 


360  Current  Movements  and  Problems 


CATHOLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 

HISTORICAL 

Catholic  schools  of  secondary  grade  have 
existed  in  the  United  States  almost  from  the 
beginning  of  our  Catholic  educational  history. 
Forming  distinct  departments  in  Catholic  col- 
leges for  boys  and  academies  for  girls,  these 
schools  have  continued  in  the  same  connection 
down  to  the  present  day.  With  the  rise  of 
the  private  secondary  school  known  as  the 
"  academy,"  after  the  Revolution,  many  Catho- 
lic institutions  of  this  class  were  established,  both 
for  boys  and  for  girls.  Some  of  these  were 
founded  and  conducted  by  lay  teachers,  and 
others  by  the  religious  orders.  These  also  have 
continued  to  exist,  and  have  been  constantly  grow- 
ing in  number.  When  the  public  high  school 
movement  began,  and  public  high  schools  in 
organic  relationship  with  the  public  elementary 
school  system  came  gradually  to  replace  the  inde- 
pendent "  academies,"  Catholics  were  not  in  a 
position,  even  had  they  so  desired,  to  parallel  the 
new  educational  creation  by  the  organization  of 
secondary  schools  in  close  connection  with  the 
existing  system  of  parish  schools.  They  had  not 
the  means  to  do  so,  and  the  parish  school  system 
was  not  sufficiently  developed  at  the  time  for  the 
attempt.  At  Lowell,  Mass.,  where  the  parish 
schools  received  public  support,  there  was  a  Cath- 
olic public  high  school  in  1843,  according  to  the 
United  States  Catholic  Magazine  for  that  year. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  361 

The  feeling  of  Catholics  in  Lowell  at  the  time 
was  thus  expressed:  "Our  schools  may  now 
compete  with  any  in  the  Commonwealth.  The 
schoolhouses  are  handsome  and  commodious 
buildings;  the  high  school  house  is  beautiful."13 
But  educational  conditions  in  Lowell  were,  at  the 
time,  rather  exceptional,  and  it  was  not  until 
nearly  half  a  century  later,  as  will  be  shown,  that 
the  movement  for  Catholic  high  schools  in  organic 
connection  with  the  parish  schools  really  began. 

COLLEGE  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

That  Catholics,  however,  were  keenly  alive  to 
the  necessity  of  providing  facilities  for  secondary 
education  under  Catholic  auspices,  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  secondary  schools  or  departments  were 
established  at  all  the  Catholic  colleges,  and  that 
these  have  been  continued,  except  in  one  or  two 
instances,  down  to  the  present  time;  as  also  by 
the  fact  of  the  continued  growth  of  the  number  of 
independent  secondary  schools.  A  report  made 
to  the  Catholic  Educational  Association  in  the 
year  1908  showed  that,  in  101  Catholic  colleges 
for  boys  in  the  United  States  there  were  10,798 
students  of  secondary  grade  in  the  high  school 
departments  of  these  colleges.  The  number  of 
collegiate  students  was  4,232.  The  colleges  for 
girls  have  likewise  always  maintained  secondary 
departments,  with  the  exception  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, Washington,  which  does  not  admit  pupils 
below  the  Freshman  grade. 

"Vol.  2,  No.  5  (1843),  art.  Statistics  of  Lowell,  Mass.;    cf. 
Cath.  Sch.  Sys.  in  U.  S.,  p.  287. 


362  Current  Movements  and  Problems 


INDEPENDENT    SECONDARY    SCHOOLS 

The  secondary  schools  of  this  class  are  inde- 
pendent of  parish  control,  and  are  generally  sup- 
ported by  tuition-fees.  Most  of  them  are  con- 
ducted by  the  religious  orders,  whether  of  men  or 
women.  Many  of  these  schools  are  of  long 
standing.  In  the  case  of  boys'  schools,  the  curric- 
ulum usually  extends  only  to  the  Freshman  year 
exclusively,  but  it  includes  the  studies  of  the 
grammar  school.  In  1901,  there  were  90  schools 
of  this  class  for  boys,  with  an  attendance  of  over 
5,000  pupils  of  secondary  grade,  and  about 
9,000  belonging  to  the  grammar  department.14 

There  are  709  Catholic  academies  for  girls  in 
the  United  States,  according  to  the  Catholic 
Directory  for  1910,  with  an  attendance  of 
between  80,000  and  90,000  pupils.  Approxi- 
mately 25,000  of  the  pupils  attending  these  insti- 
tutions are  of  secondary  grade,  about  50,000  are 
in  the  elementary  grades,  and  the  remainder  are 
in  the  collegiate  departments.15  The  total  num- 
ber of  girls  in  Catholic  secondary  schools  appears 
to  be  considerably  greater  than  that  of  boys. 
Many  of  these  academies  have  developed  strong 
collegiate  departments,  and  a  number  have  been 
chartered  by  the  state  as  colleges.  The  larger 
institutions  will  compare  favorably  with  the  best 
equipped  male  colleges,  and  the  number  of  Catho- 
lic girls'  colleges  is  growing  rapidly.  But  the 
greater  number  of  the  academies  for  girls  have 

14  Cath.   Secondary   Schools,  in  Amer.  Cath.  Q.  Rev.,  July, 

1001. 

15  Ibid.,  compared  with  Cath.  Dir.  for  1910. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  363 

no  collegiate  departments  strictly  so  called,  and 
must  be  classed  as  secondary  schools,  although 
many  of  them  have  a  year  or  two  of  collegiate 
work. 

In  Catholic  academies  for  girls  there  are 
usually  three  main  departments,  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  curriculum:  the  academic  course  or 
department,  comprising  the  studies  of  the  high 
school,  which  may  also,  as  said,  include  consider- 
able collegiate  work;  the  preparatory  depart- 
ment; and  the  primary  department, — the  last 
two  divisions  covering  jointly  the  eight  grades  of 
the  ordinary  elementary  school.  There  are  also 
departments  of  art  and  music.  These  latter  fea- 
tures are  characteristic  of  the  Catholic  academy 
for  girls.  They  impart  to  it  a  certain  cultural 
tone,  and  distinguish  it  academically  from  the 
public  high  school.  They  also  attract  to  it  pop- 
ular favor  and  support. 


PARISH    AND    DIOCESAN    HIGH    SCHOOLS 

The  movement  for  the  establishment  of  high 
schools  in  connection  with  the  parish  schools  has 
been  spontaneous,  and  first  showed  itself  in  the 
efforts  of  individual  pastors,  in  widely  separated 
parts  of  the  country,  to  add  high  school  courses, 
if  not  a  complete  high  school,  to  the  parish 
school.  A  great  impetus,  as  well  as  a  clear  and 
high  ideal,  was  given  to  the  movement  when  the 
Catholic  High  School  of  Philadelphia  was 
founded,  through  the  generous  gift  of  Mr. 
Thomas  E.  Cahill,  of  that  city.  Mr.  Cahill's 


364  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

will  was  dated  August  23,  1873,  and  provided  for 
the  purchase  of  property  and  the  erection  and 
equipment  of  a  large  and  suitable  building,  at  a 
cost  of  $280,000,  besides  a  perpetual  endow- 
ment fund,  the  annual  interest  from  which 
amounts  to  over  $30,000.  The  building  was 
dedicated  in  1890.  The  parish  schools  of  the  city 
were  brought  into  affiliation  with  the  new  insti- 
tution, and  their  graduates  who  went  on  for  sec- 
ondary studies  passed  up  to  it  after  examination. 
It  was  thus  placed  in  the  position  of  a  central 
superior  school,  while  remaining  an  integral  part 
of  the  parish  school  system,  under  the  control  of 
the  head  of  the  diocese.  The  school  is  for  boys 
only.  The  attendance  at  present  is  over  four 
hundred,  and  the  faculty  comprises  a  rector,  a 
vice-rector,  and  eighteen  lay  instructors.10 

Several  other  Catholic  high  schools  have  since 
been  erected  and  endowed  by  generous  benefac- 
tions, but  most  of  the  new  parish  high  schools  have 
had  to  depend  upon  the  parishes  for  their  sup- 
port. Since  the  opening  of  the  Catholic  High 
School  in  Philadelphia,  these  schools  have  multi- 
plied rapidly.  In  1901,  the  Commissioner  of 
Education  reported  53  such  schools,  the  attend- 
ance comprising  both  boys  and  girls,  and  three 
years  later  the  number  had  risen  to  70.  These 
were,  too,  only  the  more  important  schools  of 
this  class.  There  existed  several  times  as  many 
parish  schools  in  which  one  or  more  grades  of 
high  school  work  was  taught;  for  in  all  the 
large  parish  schools  the  tendency  was  to  keep 

"Henry,   The   Roman    Cath.   High    School,    Phila.,   in   First 
Ann.  Report  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  61. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  365 

the  pupils  as  long  as  possible,  and  thus  as  much 
high  school  work  was  taken  up  by  the  school 
as  it  could  provide  for.17  With  the  view  of  ascer- 
taining more  fully  the  actual  number  of  Catholic 
high  schools  of  this  class  and  collecting  other 
useful  data  for  a  careful  study  of  the  problems 
presented  by  the  high  school,  a  committee  was 
appointed  by  the  Catholic  Educational  Associa- 
tion in  1908,  which  made  its  report  at  the  Chi- 
cago meeting  of  the  Association,  in  July,  1911. 
The  investigation  of  the  committee  was  directed 
to  all  the  larger  parish  schools,  and  the  work  of 
893  such  schools  was  studied.  The  list  of  high 
schools  published  by  the  committee  included 
Catholic  high  schools  for  boys  and  also  those  for 
both  boys  and  girls,  exclusive  of  the  preparatory 
departments  of  colleges.  The  list  contains  310 
schools.  About  three-fourths  of  these  are  under 
parish  or  diocesan  control,  and  the  remainder  are 
under  the  control  of  religious  orders.18  The 
former  are  often  free  schools,  while  the  latter  are 
usually  supported  by  tuition-fees.19  Not  all  of 
the  independent  secondary  schools,  or  schools 
under  the  control  of  religious  orders,  are  included 
in  the  list.  Furthermore,  reports  were  not 
received  from  many  of  the  larger  parish  schools 
that  do  high  school  work,  and  it  was  estimated 
that  in  all  there  are  to-day  between  four  and  five 
hundred  Catholic  high  schools  for  boys  or  for 

"Cath.  Secondary  Schools,  in  Afflcr.  Cath.  Q.  Rev.,  July, 
IQOI  ;  Report  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  High  Schools,  in 
First  Ann.  Rep.  of  the  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  39. 

lsThe  list  of  these  schools  was  published  in  the  February 
Bulletin  of  the  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  IQII. 

19  See  above,  "Independent  Secondary  Schools,"  p.  362. 


366  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

both  boys  and  girls,  exclusive  of  the  preparatory 
departments  of  colleges.20 

The  total  number  of  pupils  doing  work  above 
the  elementary  grades  in  these  310  high  schools 
amounted  to  14,824.  The  boys  numbered  8,212, 
and  the  girls,  6,612.  One-half  of  the  high 
schools  have  four  full  grades.  Of  the  remainder, 
66  have  three  grades;  60  have  two  grades;  and 
29  have  only  one  grade.  It  is  interesting  to 
observe  that  this  condition  of  incompleteness 
obtains  also  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  case 
of  public  high  schools.  Over  one-third  of  the 
10,213  public  high  schools  given  in  the  Report  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Education  for  the  year 
1909-10  had  a  curriculum  lasting  only  from  one 
to  three  years. 

Nearly  all  these  high  schools  are  conducted  by 
religious.  Brothers  teach  in  69  schools,  and 
Sisters  in  234.  Brothers  are  generally  pre- 
ferred for  high  school  work,  in  the  case  of  boys; 
but  there  is  not  a  sufficient  number  of  teaching 
Brothers  to  meet  the  demand.  It  may  be  noted 
that  the  majority  of  teachers  in  the  public  high 
schools,  if  the  teachers  be  considered  in  the  aggre- 
gate, are  women.21  Two  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  of  these  schools  have  courses  in  Latin,  and 
more  than  two  dozen  teach  Greek  also.  Fully 
one  hundred  of  them  offer  a  curriculum  that  is 
practically  equivalent  to  the  entrance  require- 
ments for  the  Freshman  year  in  Catholic  and  non- 
Catholic  colleges  of  excellent  standing.  Yet  only 
23  of  these  schools  are  affiliated  to,  or  have  any 

20  Bull  of  the  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  Feb.,  1912,  p.  9;    also,  Rep. 
of  Eighth  Ann.  Meeting  of  the  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  47  seq. 

21  Rep.  of  Comm.  of  Ed.,  1910,  p.  1131. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  367 

direct  connection  with,  Catholic  colleges.  About 
the  same  number  are  affiliated  to  non-Catholic 
colleges  or  normal  schools. 

The  relation  of  these  high  schools  to  the  par- 
ish schools  exhibits  an  even  greater  lack  of  prac- 
tical co-ordination.  Only  19  occupy  the  position  of 
"central"  high  schools,  while  263  are  directly  con- 
nected with  but  a  single  parish  school.  A  high 
school  that  is  attached  to  a  parish  school  is  usually 
regarded  as  a  strictly  parish  affair,  and  hence 
fails  to  obtain  patronage  or  support  outside  of 
its  own  parish.  As  a  result,  the  attendance  is 
apt  to  be  small,  and  the  teaching  staff  incom- 
plete. The  establishment  of  "  central "  high 
schools,  or  the  conversion  into  such  of  certain  of 
the  existing  high  schools  that  are  now  attached 
to  elementary  schools,  is  evidently  indispensable 
for  the  further  progress  of  this  high  school  move- 
ment. Evidently,  too,  such  "  central  "  high 
schools,  if  the  elementary  schools  are  to  be  effect- 
ively connected  with  them,  must  be  under  the 
same  control  as  the  elementary  schools.  This 
can  be  brought  about  only  by  the  direct  interven- 
tion of  the  supreme  diocesan  authority,  or  by  the 
formal  and  hearty  co-operation  of  the  pastors  of 
a  town  or  city,  with  the  bishop's  approval.22  It 
has  been  calculated  that  the  total  annual  cost  of 
a  complete  Catholic  high  school,  with  seven 
teachers,  is  from  $3,000  to  $4,000.  Most  of 
the  existing  parish  high  schools  cost  far  less  than 
this.  Catholic  high  schools  fully  equal  to  the 

22  For  a  further  discussion  of  this  problem,  cf.  Report  of 
Joint  Committee  on  High  Schools,  in  First  Ann.  Rep.  of  the 
Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  1004,  p.  48. 


368  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

public  high  schools  in  point  of  efficiency,  can  be 
conducted  and  maintained  at  about  one-third  of 
the  cost  of  the  latter.23 

An  important  feature  of  this  new  high  school 
movement  is  the  growing  demand  for  Catholic 
high  schools  for  girls.  Philadelphia  has,  here 
again,  taken  the  lead.  The  practical  work  of 
organizing  a  Catholic  high  school  for  girls  began 
there  in  1900,  and  soon  four  high  school  "cen- 
ters" in  as  many  parts  of  the  city,  were  estab- 
lished, each  with  a  two  years'  course.  Each  of 
these  "centers"  was  in  charge  of  a  teaching  com- 
munity of  Sisters.  The  attendance  increased  so 
rapidly  that  the  "centers"  \vere,  in  a  few  years, 
unable  to  accommodate  all  the  pupils  that  applied. 
Through  the  untiring  efforts  of  the  Superinten- 
dent of  Schools,  the  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Philip  R.  Mc- 
Devitt,  a  practical  movement  was  inaugurated  to 
build  a  central  high  school  for  girls,  to  match 
the  splendid  Boys'  High  School;  and  with  the 
gift  of  $100,000  for  the  purpose  from  a  devout 
Catholic  lady,  and  the  generous  co-operation  of 
the  Catholics  of  the  city,  means  were  provided 
for  the  erection  and  equipment  of  a  modern  high 
school  building  capable  of  accommodating  a 
thousand  pupils  or  more.  The  building  was 
begun  on  April  27,  1911.  About  450  pupils 
were  in  attendance  at  the  high  school  "  centers  " 
in  the  year  191 1.24  An  interesting  feature  of  the 
new  Girls'  High  School  in  Philadelphia  is  that 
several  religious  communities  are  to  co-operate  in 
supplying  the  teaching  staff. 

-*  Cf.  Eighth  Ann.  Rep.  of  the  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  59. 
24 Cf.  Ann.   Reports  of  the   Supt.   of   Cath.   Schools,   Phila., 
especially  for  1908  and  1911. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  369 

Catholic  high  schools  for  girls  have  also  been 
established  in  a  number  of  other  places,  and  it 
is  likely  that  this  feature  of  the  Catholic  high 
school  movement  will  continue  to  develop.  There 
is  a  growing  demand  for  free  high  schools  for 
girls,  in  which  the  course  of  instruction  shall 
be  the  continuation  and  complement  of  the 
course  of  instruction  in  the  elementary  schools. 
The  existing  academies  for  girls  do  not  appear 
to  satisfy  this  demand,  valuable  and  indispensa- 
ble as  is  the  work  that  they  are  doing,  partly 
because  they  are  not  free  schools,  and  partly 
because  the  academies  are,  by  tradition,  inclined 
to  emphasize  the  cultural  element  in  education 
rather  than  the  useful.  The  new  girls'  high 
schools  have,  as  one  of  their  foremost  aims,  the 
training  of  girls  along  lines  that  are  closely  con- 
nected with  commercial  and  industrial  pursuits. 

It  is  evident  that  the  continued  progress  of  the 
Catholic  high  school  movement  will  have  far- 
reaching  effects.  It  is  promoting  higher  standards 
of  efficiency  in  parish  elementary  schools,  by 
reason  of  the  competitive  rating  of  their  grad- 
uates in  passing  up  to  the  high  school,  as  has 
notably  been  found  to  be  the  case  in  Philadel- 
phia. It  is  beginning  to  exert  a  quickening  influ- 
ence upon  the  academies  for  girls  and  the  high 
schools  for  boys  under  the  control  of  the  religious 
orders.  It  has  helped  to  swell  the  Freshman 
classes  in  Catholic  colleges,  and  to  stop  the  pres- 
ent drift  of  Catholic  boys  and  girls  to  the  non- 
Catholic  colleges  and  universities.  There  is  a 
growing  feeling  among  Catholic  college  men  that 
the  preparatory  department  ought  to  be  sepa- 


3  70  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

rated  altogether  or  at  least  more  widely  from  the 
college  proper,  and  this  can  be  effected  safely 
only  through  the  systematic  multiplication  of 
strong  Catholic  high  schools.  These  schools  are, 
moreover,  increasing  the  attendance  at  the  sem- 
inaries, both  secular  and  religious,  by  fostering 
and  developing  vocations.  The  movement  is 
thus  rich  in  possibilities  of  good,  and  it  seems 
destined  to  round  out  and  complete  the  organiza- 
tion of  Catholic  education  in  the  United  States, 
by  furnishing  an  effective  bond  of  union  between 
the  parish  school  and  the  college,  which  have 
hitherto  stood  practically  apart. 

THE  CATHOLIC  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 

The  growth  of  the  Catholic  high  school  move- 
ment, as  well  as  the  general  effort  that  is  being 
made  to  perfect  the  curriculum,  the  teaching,  the 
organization  and  administration  of  the  parish 
schools,  as  has  been  described  under  these  topics, 
shows  that  the  Catholic  school  system  in  the 
United  States  has  been,  within  recent  years, 
undergoing  a  rapid  development.  The  keynote 
of  all  these  progressive  movements  appears  to 
lie  in  the  general  recognition  of  the  need  of  a 
greater  unification  of  all  Catholic  educational 
forces.  The  present  study  of  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  schools  would  therefore  not  be 
complete,  within  its  professed  scope,  unless  some 
account  were  given  of  the  Catholic  Educational 
Association,  which,  although  not  organically  con- 
nected with  the  parish  school  system,  has  unques- 
tionably done  much  to  foster  the  movement  for 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  371 

unification.  Indeed,  the  Association  is  probably 
the  chief  factor  in  the  present  healthful  stir  which 
is  apparent  throughout  the  entire  field  of  Catholic 
education. 


THE  COLLEGES 

The  Catholic  Educational  Association  grew 
out  of  the  Association  of  Catholic  Colleges, 
which  was  organized  in  St.  James'  Hall,  Chicago, 
April  12  and  13,  1899.  The  initiative  in  the 
matter  was  taken  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  J. 
Conaty,  at  that  time  Rector  of  the  Catholic  Uni- 
versity. Bishop  Conaty  had  previously  proposed 
the  matter  to  the  Archbishops,  at  their  annual 
meeting,  and  received  their  most  hearty  encour- 
agement. Fifty-one  delegates,  representing  fifty- 
three  colleges,  were  in  attendance.  Seven  papers 
had  been  prepared,  and,  along  with  the  discus- 
sion of  these,  there  was  a  general  exchange  of 
ideas  all  along  the  line  of  Catholic  college  work. 
A  plan  for  permanent  organization  was  framed, 
and  a  committee  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution, 
which  was  adopted  the  following  year.  The  con- 
stitution provided  for  a  board  of  directors,  con- 
sisting of  a  president  and  a  standing  committee 
of  five  members,  all  to  be  elected  annually.  The 
board  prepared  the  programs  for  the  annual 
meetings,  and  had  charge  of  the  business  affairs 
of  the  Association,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
that  body.  Bishop  Conaty  to  whom  is  due  the 
chief  credit  for  the  founding  of  the  Association 
of  Catholic  Colleges  and  its  happy  guidance 
through  the  early  trial-years  of  its  existence,  con- 


372  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

tinued  to  occupy  the  position  of  president  until  he 
was  named  Bishop  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles, 
in  1903. 

The  number  of  colleges  in  the  Association  has 
increased  from  year  to  year,  and  also  the  attend- 
ance at  the  annual  meetings.  Rev.  John  A.  Con- 
way,  S.  J.,  of  Georgetown,  who  was  elected  to  the 
presidency  in  1904,  continued  the  conservative  and 
prudent  policy  of  his  predecessor.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1908,  by  the  Rev.  Charles  B.  Mouli- 
nier,  S.  J.,  of  Milwaukee,  who  gave  way,  after 
two  years,  to  the  Very  Rev.  M.  A.  Hehir,  C.  S. 
Sp.,  of  Pittsburgh. 

The  Association  of  Catholic  Colleges,  during 
the  thirteen  years  of  its  existence,  has  had  much 
to  do  with  the  shaping  of  recent  Catholic  college 
growth.  It  has,  for  instance,  labored  from  the 
very  beginning  to  raise  the  entrance  require- 
ments of  the  smaller  or  weaker  colleges  up  to  the 
level  of  those  of  the  larger  institutions.  Scarcely 
a  year  has  failed  to  witness  the  discussion  of  this 
matter,  in  some  form,  before  .the  convention. 
These  discussions  have  borne  fruit.  Many  of  the 
colleges  have  raised  their  entrance  requirements, 
and  at  the  last  annual  meeting  the  report  of  the 
committee  that  had  this  matter  in  charge  showed 
that  the  Association  is  preparing,  as  a  result  of 
these  years  of  discussion  and  work,  to  adopt  a 
definite  standard  of  entrance  requirements,  to  be 
demanded  of  all  colleges  joining  the  organiza- 
tion. Another  instance  of  the  good  effected  by 
the  Association  is  seen  in  the  development  of  the 
Catholic  high  school  movement.  Discussions, 
following  the  reading  of  carefully  prepared 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  373 

papers  dealing  with  the  subject,  were  frequently 
had,  and  the  importance  and  need  of  high  schools 
were  thus  urged  upon  both  clergy,  teachers,  and 
laity.  A  prominent  place  was  naturally  given,  in 
the  annual  meetings,  to  papers  and  discussions 
dealing  with  college  discipline  as  well  as  methods 
of  teaching  the  ordinary  college  branches.25 

THE    SEMINARIES 

Even  before  the  organization  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  Catholic  Colleges,  a  movement  looking 
towards  the  unification  of  Catholic  educational 
efforts  was  inaugurated  by  the  establishment, 
through  the  efforts  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Conaty, 
of  the  Conference  of  Catholic  Seminaries.  A 
meeting  of  representatives  of  various  seminaries 
was  held  at  St.  Joseph's  Seminary,  Dunwoodie, 
N.  Y.,  on  May  25,  1898,  and  an  organization 
effected.  A  second  meeting  was  held  in  Philadel- 
phia, the  next  year,  the  Very  Rev.  A.  L.  Mag- 
men,  S.  S.,.of  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore, 
being  elected  president.  Further  meetings  were 
not  held,  however,  until  1904,  when  the  Confer- 
ence assembled  at  St.  Louis,  at  the  same  time  and 
place  as  the  College  Conference.  Among  those 
who  have  been  prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Sem- 
inary Conference  may  be  mentioned:  Very  Rev. 
Patrick  McHale,  C.  M.,  of  St.  John's  Seminary, 
Brooklyn ;  Very  Rev.  James  F.  Driscoll,  St. 
Joseph's  Seminary,  Dunwoodie;  Very  Rev.  Me 

**  Cf.  Ann.  Reports  of  the  College  Conference,  1890-1903 ; 
for  an  historical  sketch  of  the  College  Conference  and  a  list 
of  all  the  papers  read,  up  to  1904  inclusive,  see  Rep.  of  First 
Ann.  Meeting  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  12  seq. 


374  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

S.  Ryan,  C.  M.,  Kenrick  Seminary,  St.  Louis; 
Very  Rev.  E.  R.  Dyer,  S.  S.,  St.  Mary's  Semi- 
nary, Baltimore;  Very  Rev.  Francis  P.  Havey,  S. 
S.,  St.  John's  Seminary,  Boston;  Very  Rev.  E.  J. 
Walsh,  C.  M.,  Niagara  University;  and  the  Very 
Rev.  Walter  Stehle,  O.  S.  B.,  St.  Vincent's  Semi- 
nary, Beatty,  Pa.26 


THE  SCHOOLS 

The  formation  of  an  organization  to  be  com- 
posed of  representatives  of  the  parish  schools, 
and  to  be  in  affiliation  with  the  College  organiza- 
tion, was  first  broached  at  the  Chicago  meeting 
of  the  Association  of  Catholic  Colleges,  in  1900. 
The  proposal  met  with  some  opposition,  as  there 
was  doubt  in  the  minds  of  certain  of  the  college 
men  as  to  the  relations  which  ought  to  subsist 
between  the  two  bodies.  Through  the  efforts  of 
Monsignor  Thomas  J.  Conaty,  acting  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  bishops,  school  superintendents  and 
delegates  from  eight  dioceses  met  with  the  Asso- 
ciation of  Colleges  at  the  Palmer  House,  Chi- 
cago, in  1902,  and  on  July  9  effected  an  organi- 
zation as  the  Parish  School  Conference,  with 
Monsignor  Conaty  as  president.  The  next  year, 
when  the  two  bodies  met  at  the  High  School  in 
Philadelphia,  the  Parish  School  Conference, 
representing  twenty-five  dioceses,  elected  an 
executive  committee  and  adopted  a  permanent 
constitution.  When  Bishop  Conaty  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  rectorship  of  the  Catholic  Univer- 

88  Cf.  History  of  the  Educational  Conference  of  Seminary 
Faculties,  in  First  Ann.  Rep.  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  25. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  375 

sity  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  D.  J.  O'Connell,  the 
same  year,  the  latter  was  elected  to  the  presidency 
of  the  Parish  School  Conference,  as  also  of  the 
Association  of  Catholic  Colleges. 

The  membership  of  the  Parish  School  Con- 
ference increased  rapidly,  many  pastors  and 
teachers  joining  the  organization.  The  attend- 
ance at  the  annual  meetings  soon  mounted  into 
the  hundreds,  and  at  the  last  annual  gathering 
there  were  over  a  thousand  in  attendance,  the 
greater  number  of  these  being  teachers  in  the 
parish  schools.  The  papers  read  and  discussed 
in  these  meetings  have  generally  had  relation  to 
the  curriculum  and  the  methods  of  teaching  its 
component  subjects,  the  teaching  of  Christian 
Doctrine  being  given  special  prominence.  These 
discussions  reached  many  thousands  of  teachers 
annually,  for  frequently  a  small  group  of  teachers 
attending  the  convention  represented  an  entire 
community,  and  were  expected,  on  their  return,  to 
make  a  report  of  the  proceedings.  The  discussions 
were  widely  circulated  also  through  their  publi- 
cation in  the  annual  reports.  The  influence  of 
the  Parish  School  Conference  upon  the  teaching 
in  the  parish  schools  has  thus  been  very  great 
and  very  helpful.  Special  teachers'  meetings,  for 
the  .benefit  of  the  local  teachers,  are  held  in  con- 
nection with  the  annual  Conference. 

Rev.  Louis  S.  Walsh,  Superintendent  of 
Schools  of  Boston,27  was  elected  president  of  the 
Conference  In  1904.  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Philip  R. 
McDevitt,  Superintendent,  of  Philadelphia,  occu- 
pied the  position  from  1906  to  1910.  He  was 
"Later  Bishop  of  Portland,  Me. 


376  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

succeeded  by  the  Superintendent  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of  New  York,  the  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Smith. 
All  three  were  specially  active  and  prominent  in 
the  work  of  organizing  the  Parish  School  Con- 
ference and  shaping  its  growth  and  policy.28 


CATHOLIC    EDUCATIONAL    ASSOCIATION 

The  idea  of  a  general  union  of  Catholic  edu- 
cational societies  was  in  the  mind  of  Bishop 
Conaty  and  other  members  of  the  College  Asso- 
ciation when  it  was  first  suggested  in  the  Chicago 
Meeting,  in  1900,  that  representatives  of  the 
diocesan  school  systems  be  invited  to  form  an 
affiliated  organization.  The  actual  accomplish- 
ment of  the  projected  union  was  due  chiefly  to 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Dennis  J.  O'Connell,  who 
made  it  one  of  his  principal  concerns,  on  his 
assuming  the  rectorship  of  the  Catholic  Univer- 
sity, in  1903.  Monsignor  O'Connell  was  ably 
assisted  in  this  work  by  influential  members  of 
the  three  independent  associations  whose  foun- 
dation has  been  described.  Conspicuous  among 
these  were  the  Rev.  Francis  W.  Howard,  of 
Columbus,  Ohio,  secretary  of  the  Parish  School 
Conference;  the  Rev.  M.  P.  Dowling,  S.  J.,  of 
Creighton  University,  who  was  chairman  of  the 
joint  committee  to  which  the  matter  was  referred 
for  settlement  at  the  St.  Louis  Meeting  of  the 
three  bodies;  and  the  Rev.  John  P.  Carroll,  who 
subsequently  became  Bishop  of  Helena. 
r  The  adjustment  of  the  relations  between  the 

28  For  an  hist,  sketch  of  Par.  School  Conf.,  cf.  First  Ann. 
Rep.  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  18  seq. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  377 

three  organizations  involved  delicate  and  difficult 
questions,  and  called  for  the  exercise  of  tact 
and  a  broad-minded  and  far-seeing  zeal.  At 
the  Philadelphia  Meeting,  in  1903,  the  Parish 
School  Conference  took  the  initiative,  by  appoint- 
ing a  committee  to  confer  with  the  Association  of 
Colleges  about  a  plan  of  union.  In  response  to 
this,  the  College  Association  empowered  its 
executive  committee  to  act  in  the  matter  and 
report,  and  during  the  winter  and  spring  of 
1903-4  the  two  committees  were  busy  with  the 
discussion  of  the  problems  and  questions 
involved.  When  the  two  societies  met  at  St. 
Louis,  in  the  summer  of  1904,  in  conjunction  with 
representatives  from  the  seminaries,  the  way  had 
thus  been  cleared  for  a  complete  agreement,  and 
a  carefully  framed  plan  of  union  had  been  pre- 
pared. This  plan  was  accepted  substantially 
without  change.29 

The  constitution  adopted  for  the  general  asso- 
ciation which  was  now  formed,  and  which  was  to 
be  known  as  the  Catholic  Educational  Associa- 
tion, left  complete  autonomy  to  each  of  the  three 
component  bodies,  in  all  that  regarded  their 
respective  independent  interests.  The  control  of 
the  finances,  however,  was  lodged  in  the  general 
association,  it  having  been  determined  that  each 
seminary  was  to  contribute  twenty  dollars 
annually,  each  college  ten  dollars,  and  each  indi- 
vidual member  or  school  in  the  School  Confer- 
ence two  dollars.  The  several  bodies  composing 
the  Association  were  to  be  designated  as  depart- 

29  Cf.  Proceedings  of  Joint  Committee  on  Organization,  in 
First  Ann.  Rep.  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  p.  30  seq. 


378  Current  Movements  and  Problems 

ments.  The  admission  of  new  departments  was 
also  provided  for.  The  officers  of  the  Associa- 
tion were  to  be,  a  president-general,  who  was  to 
preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Association;  sev- 
eral vice-presidents  general,  to  correspond  in 
number  with  the  number  of  the  departments;  a 
secretary-general;  a  treasurer-general,  and  an 
executive  board.  This  last  was  to  consist  of  the 
above  general  officers,  the  presidents  of  the 
departments,  and  two  other  members  elected 
from  each  department  of  the  Association.  All 
officers  were  to  be  elected  annually.30 

Monsignor  O'Connell,  who  had  worked  so 
hard  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  result,  was 
elected  president-general.  Upon  his  becoming 
Auxiliary-Bishop  of  San  Francisco,  in  1909,  Rt. 
Rev.  Thomas  J.  Shahan,  the  newly  chosen  Rec- 
tor of  the  Catholic  University,  was  elected  presi- 
dent-general of  the  Association.  Rev.  Francis 
W.  Howard  has  been  the  secretary-general  of 
the  Association  since  its  formation. 

The  constitution  of  the  Catholic  Educational 
Association  appears  to  have  been  wisely  framed, 
for  the  departments  have  so  far  worked  together 
in  harmony  and  with  an  ever  growing  success. 
The  membership  of  each  department  has 
increased,  and  also  the  attendance  at  the  depart- 
mental meetings.  The  treasurer's  report  for  the 
year  1910-11  showed  a  paying  membership  for 
that  year  of  12  seminaries,  in  the  Seminary 
Department,  76  colleges  in  the  College  Depart- 
ment, and  1,106  members  in  the  Parish  School 
Department,  the  latter  comprising  individual 
80  Constitution  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn.,  in  Ann.  Reports. 


Catholic  High  School  Movement  379 

persons,  schools,  academies,  and  religious 
houses.  The  total  cash  receipts  for  the  same 
year  were  $4,253.38.  The  bulk  of  the  money 
received  goes  to  the  dissemination  of  the  educa- 
tional literature  published  by  the  Association, 
which  includes  chiefly  the  official  Bulletin  of  the 
Association,  published  quarterly,  and  the  Annual 
Reports. 

The  growth  of  the  Association  and  its  influ- 
ence are  also  indicated  by  the  expansion  of  the 
departmental  work.  The  College  Department  has 
organized  three  sections  for  the  more  effective 
prosecution  of  its  work  in  the  special  fields  of 
languages  and  literature,  mathematics  and 
science,  and  philosophy  and  history;  while  in  the 
Parish  School  Department  there  is  a  section 
whose  membership  is  made  up  of  the  diocesan 
superintendents  of  schools,  and  another  which  is 
devoted  to  the  study  and  discussion  of  educational 
work  among  Catholic  deaf-mutes.31 

"Eighth  Ann,  Rep,  of  the  Cath.  Ed.  Association, 


APPENDIX  A 

STATISTICAL  SUMMARY. 

Catholic   population    of   the   United 

States1 14,347,027 

Enrollment  in  parish  schools 1,237,251 

Enrollment    in    Catholic    educational 

institutions  of   all  kinds 1,450,488 

Parish  schools    45845 

Parishes  without  schools2 4>oo4 

Teachers  in  parish  schools3 31,000 

Teaching  communities  of  women4.  .  264 

Teaching  brotherhoods 1 1 

High  schools5   310 

Enrollment  in  these  high  schools 

Boys   8,212 

Girls    6,612 

*  Cath.  Directory  for  1910. 

Not  including  missions  with  churches. 
8  Approximate. 

4  Including,  as  a  rule,  single  independent  establishments. 

5  Exclusive   of   preparatory   departments   of   colleges.     The 
above  number  includes  only  those  high  schools  reporting  to 
the  committee  of  the  Cath.  Ed.  Association  in  1910;    over  100 
high  schools  did  not  report.     See  p,  365. 

381 


APPENDIX  B 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Documentary  Sources 

Original  records  of  many  of  the  teaching  com- 
munities, at  the  respective  mother-houses. 

Letters  and  documents  relating  to  various  events 
in  American  Catholic  educational  history. 
Reference  to  these  has  sometimes  been  given 
in  the  foot-notes. 

Books,  Pamphlets,  etc. 

General  histories  are  not,  as  a  rule,  included  in  this  list, 
nor  are  works  of  which  only  a  very  limited  use  is  made.  Ref- 
erence to  the  latter  has  been  given  in  the  footnotes. 

ABBELEN,  RT.  REV.  MGR.  P.  M.  Mother  Caro- 
line Friess,  First  Commissary-General  of  the 
School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  in  America. 
A  sketch  of  her  life  and  Character.  With 
an  Introduction  by  Rt.  Rev.  J.  L.  Spalding, 
D.D.  St.  Louis:  B.  Herder,  1893,  pp. 
287. 

ALERDING,  RT.  REV.  H.  A  History  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  in  the  Diocese  of  Vincennes. 
1883,  pp.  636. 

AMERICAN  CATHOLIC  HISTORICAL  RESEARCHES. 
Philadelphia:    Founded  in  1884. 
382 


Appendix  B  383 

ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENTS  OF 
PARISH  SCHOOLS  of  the  Archdiocese  of  New 
York.  1904-1910. 

ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF 
PARISH  SCHOOLS  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Phil- 
adelphia. 1895-1911. 

ANNUAL  REPORTS  OF  THE  SUPERINTENDENTS 
OF  CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS  of  the  Dioceses  of 
Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Newark. 

ASSOCIATION  OF  CATHOLIC  COLLEGES,  ANNUAL 
REPORTS  OF  THE.  1899-1903. 

From  the  year  1904,  the  papers  and  proceedings  of  the 
Association  of  Catholic  Colleges  are  included  in  the  Reports 
of  the  Catholic  Educational  Association. 

BALCH,  EMILY  GREENE.  Our  Slavic  Fellow- 
Citizens.  New  York:  Charities  Pub.  Com., 
1910,  pp.  536. 

BOUQUILLON,  REV.  THOMAS,  D.D.  Education: 
To  Whom  does  it  Belong?  Second  Edition, 
with  a  Rejoinder  to  Critics.  Baltimore: 
John  Murphy  &  Co.,  1892,  pp.  31+42. 

BROSNAHAN,  REV.  TIMOTHY,  S.J.  Dr.  Harris 
and  the  Agnostic  School  House.  1903,  pp. 

3i- 

BROWNSON,  ORESTES  A.  Literary,  Scientific  and 
Political  Views.  Selected  from  his  Works, 
by  Henry  F.  Brownson.  New  York:  Ben- 
ziger  Bros.,  1893,  pp.  418. 

BRUNOWE,  MARION  J.  A  Famous  Convent 
School  (Mt.  St.  Vincent's-on-the-Hudson). 
New  York:  The  Meany  Co.,  1897,  pp.  153. 


384  Appendix  B 

BURNS,  JAMES  A.  The  Catholic  School  System 
in  the  United  States :  Its  Principles,  Origin, 
and  Establishment.  New  York:  Benziger 
Bros.,  1908,  pp.  415. 

CAMPBELL,  REV.  THOMAS  J.,  SJ.  The  Only 
True  American  School  System.  An  Address- 
New  York:  The  Messenger  Office,  1902, 
pp.  24. 

CAPEK,  THOMAS.  The  Slovaks  of  Hungary. 
New  York:  The  Knickerbocker  Press, 
1906,  pp.  214. 

CATHOLIC  CHURCH,  THE,  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  OF  AMERICA.  To  Celebrate  the 
Golden  Jubilee  of  His  Holiness,  Pope  Pius 
X.  Vol.  i  :  The  Religious  Communities. 
New  York:  The  Catholic  Editing  Co., 
1908,  pp.  458. 

CATHOLIC  DIRECTORY.  Annual.  New  York: 
P.  J.  Kenedy  &  Sons. 

CATHOLIC  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION,  Annual 
Reports  of.  1 904- 1911. 

CATHOLIC  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION,  Bulletin 
of.  Issued  Quarterly. 

COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION,  ANNUAL  RE- 
PORT, for  1897-8.  Chapter  XVII,  Notes  on 
the  History  of  American  Text-books  on 
Arithmetic,  pp.  788-868. 

COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION,  ANNUAL  RE- 
PORTS, especially  Report  for  1894-5,  which 
contains  a  lengthy  study  of  the  Parochial 
Schools  (pp.  1617-1671). 


Appendix  B  385 

COMPULSORY  EDUCATION.  The  State  of  Ohio 
vs.  the  Rev.  Patrick  Francis  Quigley,  D.D. 
New  York:  Robert  Drummond,  1894,  pp. 
598. 

The  three  arguments  of  Judge  Dunne,  before  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  the  Circuit  Court,  and  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Dhio,  contain  a  strong  and  clear  exposition  of  the  traditional 
Zatholic  view  of  the  respective  rights  of  the  parent,  the  state, 
ind  the  Church  in  education.  Pp.  354-403  are  devoted  to  a 
:riticism  of  Dr.  Bouquillon's  pamphlet,  "Education,  to  Whom 
iocs  it  Belong?" 

CONCILII  PLENARII  BALTIMORENSIS  TERTII, 
ACTA  ET  DECRETA.  Baltimore:  John 
Murphy  &  Co.,  1886,  pp.  cix+321. 

CONCILIORUM  PROVINCIALIUM  ET  PLENARII 
BALTIMORENSIUM,  DECRETA.  Baltimore : 

1853- 

Contains  the  Decrees  of  the  first  Seven  Provincial  Councils 
ind  the  First  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 

CONCILIORUM  PROVINCIALIUM  CINCINNATEN- 
SIUM,  ACTA  ET  DECRETA,  1855-1882.  Cin- 
cinnati: Benziger  Bros.,  1886. 

CONWAY,  REV.  JAMES,  S.J.  The  Respective 
Rights  and  Duties  of  Family,  State,  and 
Church  in  regard  to  Education.  New  York: 
Fr.  Pustet  &  Co.,  1890,  pp.  60. 

CONWAY,  REV.  JAMES,  S.J.  The  State  Last:  A 
Study  of  Dr.  Bouquillon's  Pamphlet, 
"Education:  to  Whom  does  it  Belong?" 
With  a  Supplement  reviewing  Dr.  Bouquil- 
lon's "  Rejoinder  to  Critics."  Third  Edi- 
tion. New  York:  Fr.  Pustet  &  Co.,  1892, 
pp.  1 1 6. 


386  Appendix  B 

DUNNE,  HON.  EDMUND  F.  Our  Public  Schools : 
Are  they  Free  for  All,  or  are  they  not?  A 
Lecture.  Second  Edition,  1875,  pp.  40. 

EDUCATIONAL  BRIEFS.  Issued  Quarterly  by  the 
Philadelphia  Diocesan  School  Board. 

The  Briefs  are  usually  reprints  of  educational  studies  of 
notable  importance. 

FLYNN,  REV.  JOSEPH  M.  The  Catholic  Church 
in  New  Jersey.  1904,  pp.  695. 

Contains  a  Sketch  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Convent 
Station. 

GLEANINGS  OF  FIFTY  YEARS:  The  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary  in  the 
Northwest.  1859-1909,  pp.  230. 

GOLDEN  BELLS  IN  CONVENT  TOWERS.  The 
Story  of  Father  Samuel  (Mazzuchelli)  and 
Saint  Clara.  Chicago:  Lakeside  Press, 
1904,  pp.  126. 

GUERIN,  MOTHER  THEODORE,  LIFE  AND  LIFE- 
WORK  OF.  Foundress  of  the  Sisters  of  Prov- 
idence at  St.  Mary-of-the-Woods,  Vigo  Co., 
Ind.  By  a  member  of  the  Congregation. 
New  York:  Benziger  Bros.,  1904,  pp.  499. 

HARTMANN,  REV.  B.  Religion  or  No  Religion 
in  Education.  Alton:  Melling  &  Gaskins, 
1894,  pp.  54. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC 
CHURCHES  AND  INSTITUTIONS  OF  PHILA- 
DELPHIA. A  Parish  Register  and  Book  of 
Reference.  Philadelphia.  Daniel  H. 
Maloney. 


Appendix  B  387 

HOLAIND,  REV.  RENE  I.,  SJ.  The  Parent 
First:  An  Answer  to  Dr.  Bouqillon's 
Query,  "Education:  to  Whom  Does  it 
Belong?"  New  York:  Benziger  Bros., 
1891,  pp.  34. 

HOWLETT,  REV.  W.  J.  Life  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Joseph  P.  Machebeuf,  D.D.,  First  Bishop 
of  Denver.  1908,  pp.  419. 

HUGHES,  RT.  REV.  JOHN,  WORKS  OF.  In  two 
volumes,  1864. 

JOHNSON,  CLIFTON.  Old  Time  Schools  and 
School  Books.  New  York:  The  Macmillan 
Co.,  1904,  pp.  381. 

VON  KETTELER,  RT.  REV.  W.  E.,  BISHOP  OF 
MENTZ.  Public  Schools  or  Denominational 
Schools?  Pastoral  Letter,  1873.  New 
York:  Benziger  Bros.  1892,  pp.  30. 

KRUSZKA,  WENCESLAUS.  Historya  Polska  w 
Ameryce.  6  small  vols.,  Milwaukee,  1905. 

McAuLEY,  CATHERINE,  LIFE  OF.  Foundress 
of  the  Institute  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  By 
a  Member  of  the  Order.  New  York:  D. 
&  J.  Sadlier,  1871,  pp.  508. 

McFAUL,  RT.  REV.  JAMES  A.,  D.D.  The 
Christian  School.  Pastoral  Letter.  New 
York:  Benziger  Bros.,  1907,  pp.  32. 

McQuAiD,  RT.  REV.  BERNARD  J.,  D.D.  A 
Lecture  on  School  Education  and  School 
Systems,  1874,  pp.  16. 

McQuAio,  RT.  REV.  BERNARD  J.,  D.D.  Chris- 
tian Free  Schools.  Two  Lectures.  1872, 
pp.  30. 


388  Appendix  B 

McQuAiD,  RT.  REV.  BERNARD  J.,  D.D.  The 
Public  School  Question.  A  Lecture.  1876, 
PP-  44- 

MANNING,  HENRY  EDWARD,  CARDINAL.  Na- 
tional Education.  London:  Burns  & 
Gates,  1890,  pp.  47. 

A  collection  of  articles,  expressive  of  the  traditional  Cath- 
olic view  of  the  parent,  the  Church,  and  the  state  in  education. 

MANNIX,  MARY  E.  Memoirs  of  Sister  Louise, 
Superior  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 
With  Reminiscences  of  the  Early  Days  of 
the  Order  in  the  United  States.  Boston: 
The  Angel  Guardian  Press,  1907,  pp.  338. 

MONTGOMERY,  HON.  Z.  The  School  Question 
from  a  Parental  and  non-Sectarian  Stand- 
point. Fourth  Edition.  Washington,  1889, 
pp.  138. 

NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION,  Annual 
Report,  for  1889.  Discussion  on  Denomi- 
national Schools,  by  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
Bishop  Keane,  Edwin  D.  Mead,  Ph.D.,  and 
Hon.  John  Jay.  Pamphlet,  pp.  71. 

O'HARA,  REV.  EDWIN  V.  Pioneer  Catholic 
History  of  Oregon.  Portland:  Glass  & 
Prudhomme  Co.,  1911,  pp.  236. 

PALLADINO,  REV.  L.  B.,  S.J.  Indian  and  White 
in  the  Northwest,  or  A  History  of  Catho- 
licity in  Montana.  Baltimore:  John  Mur- 
phy Co.,  1894,  pp.  409. 

Chapters  XTIT-XVI  contain  a  discussion  of  methods  of 
educating  the  Indian,  with  an  exposition  of  the  method  fol- 
lowed in  Catholic  Indian  schools,  and  of  the  principles  upon 
which  this  method  is  based. 


Appendix  B  389 

RECORDS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CATHOLIC  HISTOR- 
ICAL SOCIETY  OF  PHILADELPHIA.  Begun  in 

1884. 

REEDER,  RUDOLPH  R.,  Ph.D.  The  Historical 
Development  of  School  Readers,  and  of 
Method  in  Teaching  Reading.  Columbia 
Univ.  Contributions  to  Philosophy,  Psy- 
chology and  Education.  Vol.  8,  No.  2. 
New  York:  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1900,  pp. 
92. 

RIVAUX,  ABBE.  Life  of  Mother  St.  John  Font- 
bonne,  Foundress  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
in  Lyons.  New  York:  Benziger  Bros., 
1887,  pp.  295. 

Contains  an  account  of  the  first  mission. of  the  Congrega- 
tion in  the  United  States,  with  some  valuable  statistics. 

SADLIER,  AGNES.  Elizabeth  Seton,  Foundress  of 
the  American  Sisters  of  Charity:  Her  Life 
and  Work.  New  York:  D.  &  J.  Sadlier, 
1905,  pp.  289. 

SETON,  MOTHER,  Foundress  of  the  Sisters  of 
Charity.  Sisters  of  Charity,  Mt.-St.-Joseph- 
on-the-Ohio.  1909,  pp.  74. 

SHEA,  JOHN  GILMARY.  History  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States.  Four  Vol- 
umes. 

SHEEDY,  REV.  MORGAN  M.  The  Catholic  Paro- 
chial Schools  of  the  United  States.  In  Re- 
port of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  for 
1903,  Chapter  XXI,  pp.  1079-1101. 

SMYTHE,  HON.  CHARLES  R.  Letters  on  Public 
Schools,  with  Special  Reference  to  the  Sys- 


3QO  Appendix  B 

tern  as  Conducted  in  St.  Louis.     1870,  pp. 

SI- 
SOUVENIR  OF  THE  GOLDEN  JUBILEE  OF  THE 
THIRD  ORDER  OF  ST.  FRANCIS.    Glen  Rid- 
dle, Pa.,  1905. 

STANG,  RT.  REV.  WILLIAM,  D.D.    Pastoral  Let- 
ter on  Christian  Education.     1907,  pp.  21. 
STORY  OF  FIFTY  YEARS;  A.    From  the  Annals  of 
the  Congregation  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross.     1855-1905.    Notre  Dame,  Ind.,  A*ue 
Maria  Press,   1905,  pp.  214. 
TAXATION  AS  RELATED  TO  PUBLIC  EDUCATION. 
Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  National 
Educational  Association.     Pamphlet.     July, 
1905,  pp.  87. 

TRAHEY,  REV.  JAMES  J.  The  Brothers  of  Holy 
Cross.  Notre  Dame,  Ind.,  1907,  pp.  168. 
UNITED  STATES  CATHOLIC  MAGAZINE.  Founded 
in  Baltimore  in  1842,  and  Conducted  for  a 
year  under  the  Title  of  The  Religious  Cabi- 
net. Vols.  I-VIII. 

Contains  important  educational  data. 

WALSH,  RT.  REV.  Louis  S.  Origin  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  in  Salem.  Boston,  1890,  pp. 

151- 

WARDE,  REV.  MOTHER  M.  XAVIER,  Foundress 
of  the  Order  of  Mercy  in  the  United  States. 
The  Story  of  Her  Life,  with  Brief  Sketches 
of  Her  Foundations.  By  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  Manchester,  N.  H.  Boston:  Mar- 
lier  &  Co.,  1902,  pp.  287. 

PRINTED    BY    BENZIGER   BROTHERS,    NEW    YORK. 


Appendix  C. 


INDEX 


ABERDEEN,  S.  D.,  151. 

Academies,  after  the  Revolu- 
tion, 360;  Cath.  acad- 
emies for  girls,  362,  363. 

Akularak,  Alaska,  55. 

Alabama,  schools  of  Benedic- 
tine Srs.,  87;  of  Bros,  of 
Sacred  Heart,  113. 

Alaska,  estab.  of  Ursuline 
Sisters,  55. 

Albany,  diocese  of,  Schools 
of  Franciscan  Srs.,  83;  of 
Srs.  of  Holy  Names,  94. 

Albany,  N.  Y.,  estab.  of  Sis- 
ters of  Mary,  53 ;  of  Srs. 
of  Holy  Names,  94;  of 
Christian  Bros.,  106. 

Alemany,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  S., 
brings  Christian  Bros,  to 
San  Francisco,  109;  ed. 
work  in  California,  167- 
170. 

Allegheny,  Pa.,  90. 

Alexandria,  La.,  113. 

Alton,  111.,  diocese  of,  estab. 
of  Ursuline  Sisters,  56; 
of  Sanguinist  Sisters,  59. 

Altoona,  diocese  of,  schools 
of  Franciscan  Srs.,  83. 

Amat,  Rt.  Rev.  Thaddeus, 
170,  171. 


American  Federation  of 
Catholic  Societies,  plan 
for  public  support  of  de- 
nominational schools,  272. 

Amityville,  N.  Y.,  80. 

Ammendale,  Md.,  107. 

Ansonia,  Conn.,  53. 

Ardmore,  Okla.,  179. 

Arizona,  Sisters  of  St.  Jo- 
seph, 31 ;  early  schools, 
178 ;  compulsory  school 
legislation,  297;  Spanish 
schools,  329. 

Arkansas,  schools  of  Bene- 
dictine Srs.,  88 ;  compul- 
sory school  legislation, 
297. 

Association  of  Catholic  Col- 
leges, 3/1-373,  3/6,  377, 
378,  379- 

Atchison,  Kan.,  89,  152. 

Austin,  Mother  Mary,  of  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph,  33. 

Austin,  Tex.,  174. 

Austria,  Ursuline  Sisters 
from,  55 ;  various  na- 
tionalities from,  334-336. 

BACHMANN,  Mother  Mary 
Frances,  sup.  of  Fran- 
ciscan Srs.,  81. 


393 


394 


Index 


Baden,  Pa.,  33. 

Badin,  Rev.  Stephen  T.,  In- 
dian school  estab.  by  him 
at  Bertrand,  44  (note), 
50,  102. 

Baker  City,  Ore.,  162. 

Baltimore,     archdiocese     of, 

343- 

Baltimore,  Md.,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  Holy  Cross, 
47,  60;  of  School  Srs.  of 
Notre  Dame,  73,  74;  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  82 ; 
teaching  Bros,  from  Ire- 
land, 98;  of  Christian 
Bros.,  104,  106,  107 ;  of 
Bros,  of  Mary,  118;  of 
Xaverian  Bros.,  121. 

Baraga,  Rt.  Rev.  F.,  138,  149, 
185. 

Barzynski,  Rev.  Vincent, 
C.R.,  313,  315. 

Basilian  Fathers,  174. 

Baton  Rouge,  La.,  113. 

Bauer,  Mother  Benedicta, 
Sup.  of  Dominican  Srs., 
80. 

Bavaria,  Ursuline  Sisters 
from,  56 ;  Sanguinist  Sis- 
ters, 59;  School  Srs.  of 
Notre  Dame,  71,  73 ; 
Dominican  Srs.,  79,  80; 
Benedictine  Srs.,  86. 

Bay  City,  Mich,  68,  314. 

Bayley,  Most  Rev.  James  R., 

69,  339- 

Bay  St.  Louis,  Miss.,  113. 
Bazin,  Rt.   Rev.  John  S.,  38, 

113. 

Bedford  Park  Group  of  Ur- 
suline Sisters,  55,  56. 


Belgium,  Srs.  of  Notre  Dame 
(Namur)  from,  39; 
Xaverian  Bros.,  120. 

Belmead,  Va.,  107. 

Benedictine  Fathers,  in- 
fluence in  estab.  of 
schools,  85,  86;  in  Kan- 
sas, 152;  in  Colo.,  157; 
in  Ore.,  162;  in  Wash., 
165;  in  Okla.,  179. 

Bennett  law,  in  Wisconsin, 
218. 

Benton,  Wis.,  76. 

Benziger  Brothers,  New  York, 
Cath.  Publishers,  143, 
144,  241. 

Bernalillo,  N.  Mex.,  108,  177, 
178. 

Bertrand,  Mich.,  first  mother- 
house  of  Sisters  of  Holy 
Cross,  44. 

Bible,  in  the  schools,  222,  250. 

Bisbee,  Ariz.,  178. 

Bishops,  attitude  towards 
parish  schools,  13  seq. ; 
see  also  individual  titles. 

Blanchet,  Most  Rev.  Francis 
N.,  brings  Srs.  of  Holy 
Names  to  Oregon,  94 ;  ed. 
work  in  Oregon,  159-162. 

Blanchet,  Rt.  Rev.  Augustin 
M.  A.,  163,  164. 

Blauvelt,  N.  Y.,  79. 

Bohemians,  policy  of  Mother 
Caroline  Friess  towards, 
74;  schools,  88. 

Boise,  Idaho,  166. 

Borgess,  Rt.  Rev.  C.  H.,  62. 

Boston,  Archdiocese  of, 
schools  of  Srs.  of  Char- 
ity, 71. 


Index 


395 


Boston,  Mass.,  schools  of  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph,  33 ;  of 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame, 
41. 

Bouquillon,  Rev.  Thomas, 
D.D.,  views  on  resp. 
rights  of  parent,  church, 
and  state  in  ed.,  and  ed. 
controversy,  230-241,  246, 
262,  264,  265. 

Boyle,  Sister  Elizabeth,  su- 
perior of  Sisters  of  Char- 
ity, N.  Y.,  64. 

Braddock,  Pa.,  334. 

Brandi,  Rev.  S.  M.,  editor 
Civilta  Cattolica,  241. 

Brann,  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  Henry 
A.,  278. 

Brentwood,  L.  I.,  33. 

Bridgeport,  Conn.,  53,  337. 

Bristow,  Va.,  90. 

Brondel,  Rt.  Rev.  J.   R,   155. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  30, 
33  ;  of  Srs.  of  Mercy,  53  ; 
of  Srs.  of  Charity,  65  ;  of 
Dominican  Srs..  79,  80; 
of  Bros,  of  Sacred  Heart, 
US- 

Brother  Azarias,   107. 

Brother  Facile,  sup.  of  Chris- 
tian Bros.,  106,  no,  in. 

Brother  Francis  Xavier 
(Theodore  R  y  k  e  n  )  , 
founder  of  Xaverian 
Bros.,  119,  120. 

Brother  Patrick,  sup.  of 
Christian  Brothers,  108, 
IIO,  III. 

Brother      Stephen,      pioneer 


American      Xaverian 
Brother,  120. 
Brotherhoods — 

Brothers  of  the  Christian 
Doctrine,  148. 

Brothers  of  Christian  Edu- 
cation (from  Canada),  in 
Idaho,  166. 

Brothers  of  the  Christian 
Schools  (Christian 
Brothers),  104-112;  cate- 
chetical method,  128; 
text-books,  142,  143,  162, 
165;  in  Cal.,  170,  171 ;  in 
N.  Mexico,  178. 

Brothers  of  the  Congrega- 
tion of  the  Holy  Cross 
(Brothers  of  St.  Joseph), 
101-104,  148,  316. 

Franciscan  Brothers,   115. 

Brothers  of  St.  Gabriel,  305. 

Little  Brothers  of  Mary 
(Marist  Brothers),  174, 
267,  305- 

Brothers  of  Mary,  116-119; 
in  Cal.,  170;  in  Texas, 
173,  291. 

Brothers  of  Our  Lady  of 
Lourdes,  in  Wash.,  165. 

Brothers  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  113,  114,  179. 

Brothers  of  St.  Joseph,  36 
(see  Bros,  of  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Holy 
Cross). 

Xaverian  Brothers,  119-122. 
Brothers,  Teaching,  difficulty 
of    procuring,    23 ;     sala- 
ries, 282-284. 

Brouillet,  Rev.  J.  B.  A.,  339. 
Brownson,  Orestes  A.,  views 


396  T 


Index 


on  respective  rights  of 
church,  parent  and  state 
in  ed.,  223. 

Brownsville,  Tex.,  91. 

Brownsville,  vicariate  of,  174. 

Brunner,  Rev.  Francis  S.,  58. 

Brute,  Rt.  Rev.  Simon  Ga- 
briel, ed.  plans,  35,  50, 140. 

Bryan,  Tex.,  54. 

Buffalo,   diocese   of,  83. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  30, 
34;  of  school  Srs.  of 
Notre  Dame,  73 ;  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  83 ;  of 
Felician  Srs.,  315. 

Bureau  of  Catholic  Indian 
Missions,  339-342. 

Burlington,  la.,  148. 

Burtsell,  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  R.  L., 
258. 


CAHILL,  Thomas  E.,  founder 
of  Cath.  High  School  of 
Phila.,  363. 

California,  schools  of  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  31 ;  of  Srs. 
of  Holy  Cross,  47;  of 
Dominican  Srs.,  79;  of 
Srs.  of  Presentation,  93 ; 
discovery  of  gold,  influ- 
ence upon  ed.  in  Oregon, 
161 ;  early  ed.  history, 
167-172;  legislation 
against  private  schools, 
218;  compulsory  school 
legislation,  297 ;  Spanish 
schools,  329 ;  sec  also 
San  Francisco  and  other 
cities. 


Calvert  Hall  College,  Bait, 
107. 

Camden,  N.  J.,  103. 

Canada,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph 
from  Carondelet,  Mo.,  in, 
30,  33;  Srs.  of  Holy 
Names  come  from,  94,  95, 
169;  Christian  Bros, 
from,  104,  107 ;  estab.  of 
Bros,  of  Mary  in  Mani- 
toba, 118;  Srs.  of  Provi- 
dence from,  154;  ed.  in- 
fluence of  Canada  in 
Oregon,  Wash.,  and 
Idaho,  159-166;  Bros,  of 
Christian  Education 
from,  166;  see  also 
schools,  French  Cana- 
dian. 

Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  34. 

Canon  City,  Col.,  88. 

Carbondale,  Pa.,  6r. 

Carondelet,  Mo.,  (St.  Louis), 
mother-house  of  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  29  seq., 
1 08,  150. 

Carroll,  Most  Rev.  John, 
archb.  of  Bait,  accepts 
catechism  from  England, 
137;  ed.  hopes,  181. 

Carroll,  Rt.  Rev.  John  P., 
bishop  of  Helena,  156, 
3/6. 

Carroll,  Rev.  Stephen  F.,  206. 

Carrolltown,  Pa.,  90. 

Castroville,  Tex.,  96,  174. 

Catechetical  instruction,  in 
immigration  period,  125, 
127-129;  Bishop  Carroll's 
catechism,  137 ;  Winne- 
bago  catechism,  138;  Pro- 


Index 


397 


vin.  Councils  of  Bait,  on 
standard  catechism,  182, 
183;  First  Plenary  Coun- 
cil on  same,  184;  Second 
Plenary  Council,  on  cat. 
instruction  for  Cath. 
pupils  in  public  schools, 
189;  in  German  schools, 
302;  in  French  schools, 
305;  in  Italian  schools, 
309;  in  Polish  schools, 
324,  325;  discussion  of, 
in  Parish  School  Confer- 
ence, 375. 

Catholic  Directory,  method 
and  time  of  collecting 
school  statistics,  306 
(note),  307  (note),  319; 
statistics  for  school  at- 
tendance, 352-356. 

Catholic  Educational  Asso- 
ciation, 361,  365;  hist, 
sketch,  and  description, 

370-379- 

Catholic  Educational  Asso- 
ciation of  Oregon,  163. 

Catholic  Publication  Society, 
144. 

Catholic  University,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  192,  215, 
231,  3~i,  374,  376,  37& 

Centerport,  L.  I.,  115. 

Chatard,  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  S., 
240. 

Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  96,  158. 

Chicago,  archdiocese  of,  sala- 
ries of  Sisters,  280; 
Lithuanian  schools,  331. 

Chicago,  111.,  schools  of  Sis- 
ters of  Charity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  28;  of 


Srs.  of  Holy  Cross,  47; 
of  Srs.  of  Mercy,  50,  51 ; 
of  Benedictine  Srs.,  87, 
88;  of  Bros,  of  Cong,  of 
Holy  Cross,  102,  103; 
object  teaching  in  first 
school,  132;  first  Polish 
parish,  its  schools  and  in- 
fluence, 312,  313;  estab. 
of  Srs.  of  Holy  Family 
of  Nazareth,  315;  of  Srs. 
of  the  Resurrection,  ib. ; 
of  Srs.  of  St.  Francis 
(St.  Cunegunda),  316; 
Polish  schools  of  School 
Srs.  of  Notre  Dame,  316; 
organization  of  Assn.  of 
Cath.  Colleges,  371,  and 
of  Parish  School  Confer- 
ence, 374. 

Christian  Brothers  College, 
St.  Louis,  1 08,  in. 

Church,  the,  and  its  relations 
to  the  school,  222-247. 

Cincinnati,  O.,  a  center  of 
Catholic  ed.  work,  39; 
Schools  of  Srs.  of  Notre 
Dame,  39-43;  of  Srs.  of 
Mercy,  53 ;  of  Srs.  of 
Charity,  66-69;  of  Bros, 
of  Cong,  of  Holy  Cross, 
102;  of  Bros,  of  Mary, 
116,  117. 

Cincinnati,  archdiocese  of, 
schools  of  Srs.  of  Char- 
ity, 67  seq. ;  of  Francis- 
can Srs.,  84;  German 
schools,  302. 

Cinquin,  Mother  St.  Pierre, 
sup.  of  Srs.  of  Incarnate 
Word,  92. 


398 


Index 


Civil  War,  influence  on  ed. 
work  of  Sisters  of  Holy 
Cross,  and  patriotism  of 
the  Sisters,  46,  47,  67 ;  of 
the  Srs.  of  Charity  of 
Cincinnati,  67. 

Civilta  Cattolica,  in  Bouquil- 
lon  controversy,  241 ;  in 
Faribault  school  case, 
261. 

Clarke,  Mother  Frances,  Su- 
perior of  Sisters  of 
Charity  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  26  seq. 

Clayton,  Mo.,  118. 

Clergy,  attitude  towards  par- 
ish schools,  13  seq. 

Cleveland,  diocese  of,  144, 
!55  >  plan  of  school  or- 
ganization adopted  in 
1887,  204. 

Cleveland,  O.,  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  31  (note)  ;  Ursu- 
line  estab.,  54;  estab.  of 
Bros,  of  Mary,  118;  first 
school,  124;  Slovak 
schools,  333,  334. 

Clyde,  Mo.,  90. 

College  and  Seminary  of  SS. 
Cyril  and  Methodius,  De- 
troit (Polish),  314. 

College  of  the  Holy  Names, 
Oakland,  Cal.,  94. 

Colleges,  Catholic  Associa- 
tion of,  see  Association 
of  Cath.  Colleges. 

Colorado,  ed.  work  of  Srs.  of 
Charity  of  Cin.,  68 ; 
schools  of  Benedictine 
Srs.,  88;  early  ed.  his- 
tory, 156,  157. 


Columbus,  Ind.,  38. 

Columbus,  S.  Car.,  54. 

Conaty,  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  J., 
37i»  373,  374,  376. 

Concilio,  de,  Rt.  Rev.  J.,  240. 

Concordia,  Kan.,  34. 

Conference  of  Catholic  Sem- 
inaries, 373,  374,  377,  378. 

Congregation  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  in  Ore.,  163;  in 
Texas,  174;  see  also 
Bros,  of  the  Cong,  of  the 
Holy  Cross. 

Connecticut,  schools  of  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  51-53. 

Connelly,  Mrs.  Cornelia, 
foundress  of  Srs.  of  Holy 
Child,  95. 

Conroy,  Rt.  Rev.  John  J.,  94. 

Considine,  Rev.  Michael  J., 
206. 

Contract  School  System,  339, 
340. 

Convent  Station,  X.  J.,  70. 

Conway,  Rev.  James,  S.J., 
229,  240,  262. 

Conway,  Rev.  John,  S.T.,  372. 

Corning,  N.  Y.,  258. 

Cornwells,  Pa.,  342. 

Corpus   Christi,   Tex.,  91. 

Corrigan,  Most  Rev.  Michael 
A.,  archbishop  of  New 
York,  206. 

Cosgrove,  Rt.  Rev.  Henry, 
192. 

Cost  of  Cath.  schools,  see 
Schools. 

Cottonwood,  Id.,  90,  166. 

Council  of  Baltimore,  First 
Plenary,  183,  184,  221, 


399 


Council  of  Baltimore,  Second 
Plenary,  187-189,  222. 

Council  of  Baltimore,  Third 
Plenary,  and  Council  of 
Cincinnati,  187;  legisla- 
tion on  schools,  191-196; 
on  school  organization, 
201-204,  210-215;  effect 
of  legislation,  222,  231 ; 
242,  245,  246,  247,  263, 
264;  on  free  schools, 
2/6;  establishes  Cath. 
Indian  Bureau,  339. 

Councils  of  Baltimore,  Pro- 
vincial, 181-183 ;  Second 
Provincial,  on  text-books, 
137.  !39.  *82;  °n  relations 
of  church  and  state,  217. 

Councils  of  Cincinnati,  Pro- 
vincial, 184-187,  189,  201, 

202,   203,  269. 

Council  Bluffs,  la.,  153. 
Covington,  Ky.,  87. 
Cranston,  R.  I.,  52. 
Cresson,  Pa.,  51. 
Cretin,      Rt.      Rev.      Joseph, 

brings  Benedictine  Srs.  to 

St.   Paul,  89;    ed.  work, 

149,  150. 
Cuba,     schools     of     Srs.     of 

Providence    (Bait),   343- 
Cummiskey,     Eugene,     Cath. 

bookseller,   139. 


DALLAS,  Tex.,  Ursuline  estab., 
54;  diocese  of,  174. 

Dalles,  The,  Ore.,  162. 

Danvers,  Mass..  121. 

Davenport,  schools  in,  28, 
148. 


Dayton,  O.,  estab.  of  Sisters 
of  Notre  Dame,  41 ;  of 
Bros,  of  Mary,  116. 

Degnan,  Rev.  William  J., 
D.D.,  206. 

Denver,  Colo.,  first  schools, 
156. 

Derby,  Conn.,  53. 

De  Smet,  Idaho,  166. 

De  Smet,  Rev.  P.  J.,  S.J.,  ap- 
peals to  Namur  for 
teachers,  41 ;  establishes 
Indian  schools  in  Kansas, 
151,  152,  and  in  Nebraska, 
153;  in  Montana,  154; 
brings  Srs.  to  Oregon, 

IS9. 

Desplaines,  111.,  315. 

Detroit,  diocese  of,  schools 
of  Srs.  of  Immaculate 
Heart,  60-62. 

Detroit,  Mich.,  estab.  of 
Christian  Bros.,  106; 
estab.  of  Felician  Srs.  in, 
314,  and  Polish  college,  ib. 

Diocese,  growth  of  school 
organization  in  the,  199- 
210,  348;  also,  see 
Schools,  Catholic. 

District  of  Columbia,  curric- 
ulum of  elementary 
schools,  353. 

Dombrowski,     Rev.     Joseph, 

314- 

Dominican  Order,  ed.  tradi- 
tion and  influence,  167. 

Domenec,  Rt.  Rev.  Michael, 
68. 

Donaghoe,  Rev.  T.  J.,  helps 
to  found  Sisters  of  Char- 
ity of  the  Blessed  Virgin 


4oo 


Index 


in    Phila.,    and    goes    to 

Iowa,  26. 

Donaldsonville,  La.,   113. 
Dover,  N.  H.,  106. 
Dowling,    Rev.    Michael    P., 

S.J.,  3/6. 
Draper,  A.,  superintendent  of 

schools   in    N.    Y.    State, 

266,  268. 
Drexel,  Mother  M.  Katherine, 

340,  341,  342. 
Driscoll,  Very  Rev.  James  F., 

373- 
Dublin,     Ireland,    Dominican 

Srs.  from,  81. 
Dubois,  Rt.  Rev.  John,  97. 
Dubourg,  Most  Rev.  William 

V.,    19,   97- 
Dubuis,  Rt.  Rev.  Claude  M., 

92,  96,  173,  174. 
Dubuque,   la.,    foundation  of 

Sisters  of  Charity  at,  26 

seq. ;    of  Bros,  of  Mary, 

118,  148,  149. 
Duluth,  diocese  of,  schools  of 

Benedictine  Srs.,  89. 
Duluth,  Minn.,  90,  109. 
Dunne,  Hon.  Edmund  F.,  219, 

224,  234,  241. 
Dwenger,    Rt.    Rev.    Joseph, 

200. 
Dyer,  Very  Rev.  E.  R.,  S.S., 

374- 


EAST  Morrisania,  N.  Y.  City, 

55- 

Ebensburg,  Pa.,  33. 
Edcl,    Brother    Andrew,    116, 

117. 
Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  88. 


Elliott,  Rev.  Walter,  C.S.P., 
128,  129. 

Ely,  Mother  Jerome,  sup.  of 
Srs.  of  Charity,  64. 

Emmettsburg,  Pa.,  64,  66,  136. 

England,  Srs.  of  Holy  Child 
from,  95. 

English,  lack  of,  in  early 
teachers,  129-132;  En- 
glish vs.  foreign  lan- 
guages in  the  school,  218, 
296,  298 ;  compulsory 
laws  regarding,  297 ;  see 
also  schools  of  foreign 
nationalities,  German, 
French,  Polish,  etc. 

Erie,  Pa.,  Sisters  of  St.  Jo- 
seph, 33 ;  Benedictine 
Srs.,  86-88. 

Eureka,  Utah,  158. 

Evansville,  Ind.,  38. 


FALL  RIVER,  Mass.,  estab.  of 
Christian  Bros.,  106. 

Fargo,  diocese  of,  schools  of 
Benedictine  Srs.,  89. 

Fargo,  N.  D.,  150. 

Faribault,  Minn.,  see  Fari- 
bault  Plan. 

Faribault  Plan,  238,  240,  242, 
245,  246;  hist,  sketch, 
258-265. 

Farley,  John  M.,  Cardinal, 
archbishop  of  Xew  York, 
efforts  to  establish  Italian 
schools,  308. 

Far  Western  States,  see 
chapter  VI,  also  refer- 
ences under  the  indi- 
vidual States. 


Index 


401 


Feehan,  Most  Rev.  Patrick 
A.,  192. 

^erdinand,  Ind.,  87,  88. 

Fitzpatrick,  Rt.  Rev.  John  B., 
stops  building  of  schools, 
18. 

Fitzsimons,  Rev.  Simon,  pas- 
tor of  Lima,  N.  Y.,  268. 

Flaget,  Rt.  Rev.  Benedict  J., 

19,  97- 

flagstaff,  Ariz.,  178. 

Flasch,  Rt.  Rev.  Kilian  C, 
192. 

Florence,  Ariz.,  178. 

Flushing,  L.  I.,  33. 

foreign  nationalities,  policy 
of  Mother  Caroline 
Friess,  74;  see  also  Im- 
migrants, Germans, 
Poles,  etc. 

Fort  Monroe,  Va.,  121. 

Fort  Vancouver,  Wash.,,,  159, 
164. 

Fort  Wayne,  diocese  of, 
schools  of  Sanguinist 
Sisters,  59;  plan  of 
school  organization 
adopted  in  1879,  200,  204; 
report  of  school  board  on 
text-books,  348;  curricu- 
lum of  school,  351. 

Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  38,  102, 
103. 

Fournier,  Mother  St.  John, 
29  seq.,  150. 

France,  Sisters  of  Providence 
from,  35;  Srs.  of  Holy 
Cross,  43 ;  Ursulines,  54 ; 
Srs.  of  Incarnate  Word, 
91 ;  Srs.  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, 96;  Bros,  of  Cong. 


of  Holy  Cross,  102; 
Christian  Bros.,  104,  178; 
Srs.  of  Mary  of  Presen- 
tation, 151 ;  Srs.  of  Char- 
ity, 171- 

Fredet,  Rev.  Peter,  142. 

Friess,  Mother  Caroline,  sup. 
of  School  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  71-75,  86. 

Frontenac,  Minn.,  56. 

GALLITZIN,    Rev.    Demetrius, 

5i. 

Gallitzin  school  case,  268 
(note). 

Galveston,  diocese  of,  174. 

Galveston,  Tex.,  Ursuline 
estab.,  54,  173  ;  schools  of 
Srs.  of  Incarnate  Word, 
92;  colored  schools,  343. 

Gardenville,  Pa.,  83. 

George,  Mother  Margaret, 
sup.  of  Srs.  of  Charity, 
of  Cincinnati,  66-69. 

Georgetown  College,  181. 

German  Catholics,  attitude 
towards  Catholic  schools, 
58,  71,  184,  185. 

German  Immigrants,  n  seq., 
299-302. 

Germany,  ed.  influence  of 
immigrants  from,  15 
seq. ;  Ursulines  from,  57  ; 
ideas  about  relation  of 
school  to  state  imported 
from,  220;  see  also  Ba- 
varia. 

Gibbons,  James,  Cardinal, 
archbishop  of  Bait.,  229, 
246 ;  on  schools  for  for- 
eign nationalities,  298. 


4O2 


Index 


Gila  River  Reservation,  Ariz., 

178. 

Gillespie,  Eliza  Maria,  see 
Mother  Angela. 

Gilmour,  Rt.  Rev.  Richard, 
his  text-books,  143,  144; 
his  plan  of  school  organi- 
zation, 204,  205. 

Glandorf,  O.,  59. 

Glencoe,  Mo.,  108. 

Glen  Riddle,  Pa.,  82. 

Glorieux,  Rt.  Rev.  A.  J.,  166, 
167. 

Grand  Forks,  N.  D.,  57. 

Grand  Portage,  Minn.,  149. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  79. 

Great  Awakening,  and  Catho- 
lic schools,  18. 

Great  Bend,  Kan.,  79. 

Greensburg,  Pa.,  68. 

Greenville,  S.  Car.,  55. 

Greenwich,  Conn.,  53. 

Guerin,  Mother  Theodore, 
superior  of  Sisters  of 
Providence,  35  seq. 

Guthrie,  Okla.,  89,  179. 

HAGUE  Arbitration  Tribunal, 
award  to  church  in  Cal. 
in  Pious  Fund  Case,  171. 

Hailandiere,  Rt.  Rev.  Celes- 
tine,  35,  38,  44,  102. 

Halifax,  N.  S.,  estab.  of  Srs. 
of  Charity,  65. 

Hammer,  Rev.  Clement,  116. 

Harrisburg,  diocese  of,  33; 
schools  of  Srs.  of  Im- 
maculate Heart,  62;  of 
Srs.  of  Charity,  65,  71. 

Hartford,  Conn.,  estab.  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  51 ;  of 


Srs.  of  Charity,  71 ;  of 
Christian  Bros.,  106;  plan 
for  state  support  of 
school,  254. 

Havey,  Very  Rev.  Francis  P., 
S.S.,  374. 

Hawaiian  Islands,  estab.  of 
Bros,  of  Mary,  118. 

Hecker,  Rev.  I.  T.,  founder 
of  Paulists,  229. 

Hehir,  Very  Rev.  M.  A., 
C.S.Sp.,  372. 

Heiss,  Most  Rev.  Michael,  84. 

Henni,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Martin, 
first  bishop  of  Milwau- 
kee, brings  School  Srs. 
of  Notre  Dame  to  Mil- 
waukee, 74. 

High  Schools,  Catholic,  see 
Schools. 

Helena,  Mont,  155,  156. 

Higgins,  Rev.  E.  A.,  S.J.,  240. 

Hoban,  Rt.  Rev.  Michael  J., 
333. 

Holaind,  Rev.  R.  I.,  S.J.,  238, 
239,  240. 

Holy  Names,  College  of  the, 
Oakland,  Cal.,  169. 

Holy  See,  efforts  for  im- 
provement of  Cath.  ed. 
in  U.  S.,  57,  Si ;  action  in 
school  controversies  in 
U.  S.,  242-247,  264. 

Houston,  Tex.,  343. 

Howard,  Rev.  Francis  W., 
secy,  of  Cath.  Ed.  Assn., 
198,  3/6,  3/8. 

Hughes,  Most  Rev.  John, 
archb.  of  New  York, 
educational  maxim,  13 ; 
secures  teachers  from 


Index 


4°3 


Europe,  19 ;  views  about 
organization  of  Srs.  of 
Charity,  63,  65 ;  brings 
teaching  Bros,  from  Ire- 
land, 98,  and  Christian 
Bros.,  106;  views  on  re- 
lation of  parish  priests  to 
school,  198,  229;  pro- 
posals regarding  state 
support  of  Cath.  schools, 
252,  253,  270. 

Hungary,  Slovaks  from,  333 ; 
Hungarians  in  U.  S.,  336. 

IDAHO  CITY,  Id.,  165,  166. 

Idaho,  schools  of  Sisters  of 
Holy  Cross,  47;  of  Srs. 
of  Immaculate  Heart,  61 ; 
early  ed.  history,  165-167. 

Illinois,  schools  of  Sisters  of 
Charity  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  28,  29;  of  Srs.  of 
Providence,  38;  of  Srs. 
of  Holy  Cross,  47;  of 
Ursuline  Srs.,  56,  57;  of 
Sanguinist  Srs.,  59;  of 
Dominican  Srs.,  77;  see 
Chicago,  and  other  cities. 

Immigration,  as  a  factor  in 
school  growth,  n  seq. ; 
Polish  immigrants,  326 
seq. ;  see  also  German, 
Irish  immigrants,  etc. 

Immigration  Commission, 
Report  on  the  children  of 
immigrants  in  schools, 
307,  320. 

Indiana,  schools  of  Sisters  of 
Holy  Cross,  44-47;  of 
Benedictine  Srs.,  87,  88; 
compulsory  school  legis- 


lation, 297 ;  see  Indian- 
apolis, Fort  Wayne,  etc. 

Indianapolis,  diocese  of, 
schools  of  Franciscan 
Srs.,  84. 

Indianapolis,   Ind.,  38,   114. 

Iowa,  schools  of  Srs.  of 
Charity  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  26-29;  of  Bene- 
dictine Srs.,  89;  earliest 
schools,  148;  Benedictine 
Srs.  from,  179;  see 
Dubuque  and  other  cities. 

Ireland,  ed.  influence  of  im- 
migrants from,  15  seq.; 
Sisters  of  Mercy  from, 
48,  53,  169;  teaching 
Bros.,  98;  Franciscan 
Bros.,  115;  Presentation 
Nuns,  150;  system  of 
National  Ed.,  its  influ- 
ence in  U.  S.,  254. 

Ireland,  Most  Rev.  John, 
tribute  to  religious  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  47 ;  advo- 
cates public  support  of 
denominational  schools, 
260 ;  and  Faribault  Plan, 
261-265;  plea  for  English 
plan  of  supporting  de- 
nominational schools,  271. 

Irish  immigrants,  n  seq.;  at- 
titude towards  English 
language,  296. 

Italy,  aid  to  Cath.  ed.  in  U.  S., 


JACKSONVILLE,  Ore.,  162. 
Jasper,  Ind.,  36. 
Jefferson,  Wis.,  85. 
Jenkins,  Thos.  J.,  229,  240. 


404 


Index 


Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  estab.  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  52;  of 
Srs.  of  Charity,  69;  of 
Dominican  Srs.,  79. 

Jesuits,  Indian  missions  and 
schools  in  Montana,  154; 
open  college  in  Denver, 
157;  and  Pious  Fund  of 
Cal.,  172;  foremost  in 
Indian  school  work 
among  orders  of  men, 
342. 

Johnstown,  Pa.,  90. 

Joliet,  111.,  85. 

KANSAS  CITY,  Mo.,  109. 

Kansas,  schools  of  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph,  33;  of  San- 
guinist  Srs.,  59;  of  Do- 
minican Srs.,  79;  of 
Benedictine  Srs.,  89; 
earliest  schools,  151-153, 
156;  compulsory  school 
legislation,  297. 

Keane,  Most  Rev.  John  J., 
229. 

Kenrick,  Most  Rev.  Francis 
Patrick,  archb.  of  Phila., 
difficulty  in  securing 
teachers,  19;  and  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  32. 

Kenrick,  Most  Rev.  Peter  R., 
archb.  of  St.  Louis,  plans 
to  unite  branches  of  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph,  30 ; 
secures  Christian  Bros., 
108. 

Kentucky,  estab.  of  Ursuline 
Sisters,  56. 

Kcrney,  Martin  J.,  author  of 
Cath.  text-books,  139-141. 


Ketcham,  Rev.  William  H., 
339  seq. 

Key  West,  Fla.,  94. 

Kieran,  Mother  John,  of  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph,  32. 

Kim,  Bro.  J.  B.,  of  Bros,  of 
Mary,  119. 

Know-Nothing  Movement, 
influence  on  Catholic  ed- 
ucation, 18,  26,  200;  atti- 
tude of  Mother  Warde, 
52;  Xaverian  Bros.,  120; 
school  Sisters,  131,  222. 

Kulturkampf,  causes  Ursu- 
lines  to  come  to  U.  S.,  57; 
Sanguinist  Srs.,  59; 
Franciscan  Srs.,  85 ; 
causes  Polish  immigra- 
tion to  U.  S.,  311. 

Kundeck,  Rev.  Joseph,  36. 


LA  CROSSE,  diocese  of,  schools 

of  Benedictine  Srs.,  89. 
La  Crosse,  Wis.,  85. 
Lafayette,  Ind.,    154. 
La  Grange,  111.,  Sisters  of  St. 

Joseph,  34. 
Laity,  attitude  towards  parish 

schools,  16  seq. 
Lake  City,  Minn.,  56. 
Lamy,  Rt.  Rev.  John  B.,  ed. 

work  in  N.  Mexico,  68 ; 

176-178. 
Lannen,  Mother  Clement,  of 

Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  32. 
Laporte,  Ind.,  47. 
Laramie,  Wyo.,  158. 
Laredo,  Tex..  54. 
La  Salle  College,  Phila.,   107. 
Las  Cruces,  Ariz.,  177,  178. 


Index 


405 


Las  Vegas,  N.  Mex.,  108,  157, 

177,  178. 

Lawrence,  Kan.,  152. 
Lay  teachers,  see  Teachers. 
Lazarists,  influence   in  estab. 

of  schools,  172,  173. 
Leavenworth,  Kan.,  153,  343; 

see  also  Srs.  of  Char,  of 

Leavenworth. 
Lechner,  Mother  Alexia,  sup. 

of  Benedictine  Srs.,  87. 
Lefevre,    Rt.   Rev.    Peter    P., 

60. 
Lima,  N.  Y.,  258 ;  Lima  school 

case,  hist,  sketch,  267-269. 
Lincoln,     Neb.,     diocese     of, 

Ursuline  schools,  57. 
Little   Rock,   Ark.,    estab.   of 

Sisters  of  Mercy,  53. 
Littlestown,  Pa.,  129. 
Litz,  Bro.  Damian,  of  Bros. 

of  Mary,  116-118. 
Lockport,  N.  Y.,  174. 
Lootens,  Rt.  Rev.  Louis,  166. 
Loras,  Rt.  Rev.  Matthew,  first 

bishop    of    Dubuque,    26, 

27,  148,  149. 
Loretto,  Ky.,  see  Srs.  of  Lo- 

retto. 

Loretto,  Pa.,  51,  115. 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  171. 
Loughlin,   Rt.   Rev.   John,   of 

Brooklyn,  and  Sisters  of 

St.     Joseph,    33;     brings 

Franciscan     Bros,     from 

Ireland,   115. 
Louisiana,    schools    of    Bros. 

of  Sacred  Heart,  113;  see 

New  Orleans. 
Louisville,  diocese  of,  schools 


of   Xaverian    Bros.,    120, 

121. 
Louisville,  Ky.,  schools  of  the 

Sisters  of  Mercy,  53 ;    of 

Ursuline     Srs.,     56;     of 

Xaverian  Bros.,  120,  121. 
Lowell,  Mass.,  41,  270,  360. 
Lynch,      Rt.     Rev.      Patrick, 

brings  Ursuline  Sisters  to 

S.  Car.,  54. 
Lynn,  Mass.,  106. 
Lyons,  France,  91,  92. 

McAuLEY,  Mother  Catherine, 
foundress  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy,  48,  49. 

McCarthy,  Prof.  Charles  H., 
140,  142. 

McCloskey,  John,  Cardinal, 
archbishop  of  New  York, 
254,  262,  265,  266. 

McCloskey,  Rt.  Rev.  William 
G.,  brings  Sisters  of 
Mercy  to  Louisville,  53. 

McDevitt,  Rt.  Rev.  Philip  R., 
supt.  of  schools  of  Phila., 
208;  method  of  comput- 
ing saving  to  the  state 
from  Cath.  schools,  288; 
on  the  reasons  why  Cath- 
olic children  attend  the 
public  schools,  358,  359; 
provides  for  building  of 
Cath.  high  school  for 
girls  in  Phila.,  368 ;  Pres. 
of  Parish  School  Con- 
ference, 375. 

McFaul,  Rt.  Rev.  James  A., 
230.  272. 

McHale,  Very  Rev.  Patrick, 
C.M.,  373- 


406 


Index 


McLaughlin,  Dr.  John,  the 
"Father  of  Oregon,"  161, 
163. 

McQuaid,  Rt.  Rev.  Bernard 
J.,  of  Rochester,  and 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  34, 
229. 

McSherrystown,    Pa.,   31,   33. 

McSweeny,  Rev.  Patrick  F., 
Pastor  at  Poughkeepsie, 
N.  Y.,  254-258. 

Machebeuf,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph 
P.,  brings  Ursuline  Sis- 
ters to  Ohio,  54;  ed. 
work  in  N.  Mexico,  68, 
176,  1/7;  in  Colo.,  156, 

157. 
MacMaster,  James  A.,  editor 

of     Freeman's     Journal, 

265. 

Madison,  Ind.,  38. 
Madison,  N.  J.,  70. 
Magnien,   Very    Rev.   A.    L., 

S.S.,  373. 
Maine,      compulsory      school 

legislation,  297. 
Malone,  X.  Y.,  57. 
Manayunk,  Pa.,  316. 
Manchester,        diocese        of, 

schools      of      Bros.      of 

Sacred    Heart,    114. 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  estab.  of 

Sisters  of  Mercy,  52;    of 

Benedictine   Srs.,  89;    of 

Christian  Bros.,  106;  153; 

French  schools,  307. 
Manhattan     College,     X.     Y. 

City,  105,  in. 
Manitoba,   118. 
Mann,  Horace,  220. 
Manning,      Henry      Edward, 


Cardinal,  on  relation  of 
school  to  state,  220;  on 
priority  of  parent's  right 
in  ed.,  225,  226;  on  rights 
of  the  state  in  ed.,  226, 
227. 

Manogue,  Rt.  Rev.  Patrick, 
172. 

Mansura,  La.,  113. 

Maria  Stein,  O.,  59. 

Martinez,  Rev.  Antonio  Jose, 

175,  1/6. 

Maryland,  schools  of  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  32;  of  Srs. 
of  Providence,  38,  63 ; 
compulsory  school  legis- 
lation, 297;  see  also  Bal- 
timore. 

Marysville,  Cal.,  168. 

Massachusetts,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  Providence, 
38;  of  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  41 ;  attempted 
legislation  against  Cath. 
schools,  218;  compulsory 
school  legislation,  297 ; 
see  Boston  and  other 
cities. 

Mazzuchelli,  Rev.  Samuel,  75- 
77 ;  gets  out  Winnebago 
catechism,  138;  estab- 
lishes schools  in  Iowa, 
148. 

Meerschaert,  Rt.  Rev.  Theo- 
philc,  179. 

Mehegan,  Mother  Mary 
Xavier,  sup.  of  Srs.  of 
Charity,  of  X.  J.,  70. 

Mcriclen,  Conn.,  53. 

Meridian,  Miss.,   j  13. 

Mesilla,  X.  Mex.,  177. 


Index 


407 


Mesplie,  Rev.  Toussaint,  166. 

Messmer,  Most  Rev.  Sebas- 
tian G.,  236,  240. 

Metuchen,  N.  J.,  114. 

Mexico,  schools  of  Srs.  of 
Incarnate  Word  (San 
Antonio),  93;  of  Bros, 
of  Mary,  118. 

Meyer,  Rev.  Leo,  sup.  of 
Bros,  of  Mary,  116. 

Michigan  City,  Ind.,  school 
of  Sisters  of  Holy  Cross, 
47 ;  curriculum  of  school, 
350,  35i. 

Michigan,  schools  of  Sisters 
of  Providence,  38;  of 
Srs.  of  Immaculate 
Heart,  60-62 ;  of  Srs.  of 
Charity,  68;  compulsory 
school  legislation,  297 ; 
Polish  settlements  and 
schools,  311. 

Middletown,  Conn.,  53. 

Middletown,  N.  Y.,  56,  57. 

Middle  West,  Cath.  ed.  devel- 
opment in,  see  chapter  I, 
also  the  references  under 
the  individual  States. 

Miegc,  Rt.  Rev.  J.  B.,  S.J., 
152. 

Miles  City,  Mont,  155. 

Milford,  Conn.,  53. 

Millvale,  Pa.,  83. 

Milwaukee,  Wis.,  schools  in, 
29;  estab.  of  school  Srs. 
of  Notre  Dame,  74;  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  84;  of 
Bros,  of  Cong,  of  Holy 
Cross,  102;  Polish  school 
of  School  Srs.  of  Notre 
Dame,  316. 


Minneapolis,  Minn.,  109,  150. 

Minnesota,  Sisters  of  St.  Jo- 
seph, 31 ;  schools  of  Ben- 
edictine Srs.,  89;  earliest 
schools,  149,  150;  public 
support  of  Cath.  schools, 
265 ;  compulsory  school 
legislation,  297;  see  also 
St.  Paul  and  other  cities. 

Mississippi,  schools  of  Bros, 
of  Sacred  Heart,  113. 

Missouri,  schools  of  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  31 ;  of  Ur- 
suline  Srs.,  55,  56;  early 
schools,  147;  see  St. 
Louis,  and  other  cities. 

Mobile,  Ala.,  113,  114. 

Molyneux,   Father,   S.J.,   137. 

Monroe,  Mich.,  mother-house 
of  Sisters  of  Immaculate 
Heart,  60-62. 

Montana,  schools  of  Ursuline 
Sisters,  55 ;  early  ed.  his- 
tory, 154-156;  compul- 
sory school  legislation, 

297- 

Monterey  and  Los  Angeles, 
diocese  of,  169,  170,  171. 

Montgomery,  Zach.,  229,  240. 

Mora,  N.  Mex.,  177. 

Moreau,  Rev.  Basil  A., 
founder  of  Sisters  of 
Holy  Cross,  43 ;  of  Con- 
gregation of  Holy  Cross, 

44- 

Morristown,   N.  J.,  70. 

Mother  Angela  (Eliza  Maria 
Gillespie),  superior  of 
the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  43  seq. ;  prepares 
scries  of  readers,  143. 


408 


Index 


Mother  Antonia,  sup.  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  84. 

Mother  Julia,  superior  of  Sis- 
ters of  Notre  Dame 
(Namur),  founds  acad- 
emy in  Phila.,  41 ;  pur- 
chases site  for  new  no- 
vitiate, 42 ;  founds  Trin- 
ity College,  Washington, 

43- 

Mother  Theresia,  sup.  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  84. 

Moulinier,  Rev.  Charles  B., 
S.J.,  372. 

Mount  Angel,  Ore.,  90. 

Mount  St.  Joseph,  O.  (Cin- 
cinnati), see  Srs.  of 
Charity,  of  Cincinnati. 

Mount  St.  Joseph's  Collegiate 
Institute,  Phila.,  32. 

Mount  St.  Vincent  Academy, 
N.  Y.,  64-66. 

Murphy,  John,  &  Co.,  Cath. 
publishers,  141-143. 

Muskegon,  Mich.,  57. 

Muskogee,  Okla.,  179. 

NASHVILLE,  Tenn.,  estab.  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  52;  of 
Srs.  of  Charity,  152;  of 
Srs.  of  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament, 344. 

Natchez,  diocese  of,  schools 
of  Bros,  of  Sacred  Heart, 

113- 

Natchez,  Miss.,  113. 
Native  American  Movement, 

218,  294. 

Naugatuck,  Conn.,  53. 
Nauvoo,  111.,  88. 
Nebraska,  schools  of  Sisters 


of  Providence,  38;  of 
Ursuline  Srs.,  57 ;  of 
Benedictine  Srs.,  89;  first 
schools,  153. 

Nebraska  City,  Neb.,  89,  153. 

Nerinckx,  Rev.  Charles,  97. 

Neumann,  Rt.  Rev.  John  N., 
Bishop  of  Phila.,  educa- 
cational  zeal,  31,  32,  61, 
81,  107;  plan  for  school 
organization  in  diocese, 
199,  276. 

Nevada,  158;  first  schools, 
172. 

Nevada  City,  Nev.,  172. 

Newark,  diocese  of,  estab.  of 
Srs.  of  Charity,  69-71. 

Newark,  N.  J.,  69,  70 ;  schools 
of  Benedictine  Srs.,  88, 
89. 

Newburg,  N.  Y.,  80. 

New  Diggins,  Wis.,  134. 

New  England,  schools  of  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  51  seq. ; 
of  Franciscan  Srs.,  82; 
of  Christian  Bros.,  106; 
of  Bros,  of  Sacred  Heart, 
114;  French  Canadian 
immigration,  303,  304. 

New  Hampshire,  compulsory 
school  legislation,  297. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  estab.  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  51. 

New  Jersey,  schools  of  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph,  32;  of 
Srs.  of  Charity,  65,  69- 
71 ;  of  Franciscan  Srs., 
82;  of  Christian  Bros., 
107;  plan  to  provide  for 
state  support  of  Cath. 
schools,  258. 


Index 


New  London,  Conn.,  53. 

New  Mexico,  early  ed.  his- 
tory, 174-178;  Spanish 
schools,  329. 

New  Orleans,  archdiocese  of, 
French  schools,  306,  307; 
colored  schools,  343,  344. 

New  Orleans,  Ursuline  estab. 
and  colonies,  54;  estab. 
of  Dominican  Srs.,  81 ;  of 
Benedictine  Srs.,  87 ;  of 
Bros,  of  Sacred  Heart, 
113;  of  Bros,  of  Mary, 
118;  Dominican  Srs. 
from,  in  Nevada,  172; 
Ursuline  Srs.  from,  in 
Texas,  173 ;  foundation 
of  Srs.  of  Holy  Family, 
and  colored  schools,  343, 

344- 

Newport  News,  Va.,  121. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  52. 

New  Riegal,  O.,  58. 

New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  56. 

Newtown,  Conn.,  53. 

New  York,  archdiocese  of, 
schools  of  Srs.  of 
Charity,  63-66,  71 ;  letter 
of  bishops  of  province 
anent  Faribault  school 
decision,  264;  number  of 
lay  teachers,  279;  sala- 
ries of  Sisters,  280; 
actual  cost  of  Cath. 
schools,  291,  292;  see 
also  cities  of  archdiocese. 

New  York  City,  estab.  of  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  52;  of 
Ursuline  Srs.,  55,  56;  of 
Dominican  Srs.,  79;  of 
Srs.  of  Holy  Child,  96; 


of  Christian  Bros.,  104- 
112;  of  Bros,  of  Maty, 
118;  proposals  of  Bishop 
Hughes  to  board  of 
aldermen,  252,  253;  en- 
dowment of  St.  Agnes' 
School,  278;  ann.  in- 
crease in  school  enroll- 
ment, 286 ;  average  value 
of  school  property  per 
pupil,  292 ;  Italian 
schools,  309;  schools  for 
deaf  and  dumb,  345. 

New  York  State,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,,  31 ; 
of  Srs.  of  Charity,  63-66; 
of  Christian  Bros.,  106; 
cost  of  school  buildings 
in  1846,  123 ;  attitude  to- 
wards private  ed.  institu- 
tions, 219,  271 ;  salaries 
of  teachers  in  public  and 
parish  schools  compared, 
283;  cost  of  public  and 
parish  schools  compared, 
288  -  292;  compulsory 
school  legislation,  297 ; 
see  also  cities  of  the 
State. 

Norfolk,  Va.,  121,  343. 

North  Dakota,  first  schools, 
150,  151- 

North  Yakima,  Wash.,  164. 

Norwalk,  Conn.,  53. 

Notre  Dame  College,  San 
Jose,  Cal.,  169. 

Notre  Dame,  Ind.,  receives 
first  Sisters  of  Holy 
Cross  in  America,  44 ; 
sends  professors  to  acad- 
emy at  Bertrand,  45 ; 


Index 


Bros,  of  Cong,  of  Holy 
Cross,  102,  103,  148. 

OAKLAND,  Cal.,  95,  169. 

Object  Teaching,  in  immigra- 
tion period,  132,  133. 

O'Connell,  Rt.  Rev.  Dennis  J., 
261,  375,  3/6,  3/8. 

O'Connell,  Rt.  Rev.  Eugene, 
171,  172. 

O'Connor,    Rt.    Rev.    James, 

154. 

O'Connor,  Rt.  Rev.  Michael, 
brings  Sisters  of  Mercy 
to  Pittsburgh,  49,  and 
school  Srs.  of  Notre 
Dame  to  western  Pa.,  72 ; 
brings  teaching  Bros, 
from  Ireland,  98 ;  brings 
Franciscan  Bros.,  115. 

Odin,  Rt.  Rev.  John  M.,  118; 
ed.  work  in  Texas,  172, 

173- 

O'Fallon,  Mo.,  59,  60. 

Ogden,  Utah,  158. 

Ogdensburg,  N.  Y.,  258. 

O'Gorman,  Rt.  Rev.  James 
M.,  153. 

O'Hara,  Rt.  Rev.  Wm.,  61. 

Ohio,  schools  of  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  39-43 ;  of 
Ursuline  Sisters,  54  seq. ; 
of  Srs.  of  Precious 
Blood,  58,  59;  of  Srs.  of 
Charity,  66-69;  of  Bros. 
of  Mary,  117,  118;  com- 
pulsory ed.  law,  219,  241, 
297 ;  German  Cath. 
schools,  300,  302;  see 
Cincinnati  and  other 
cities. 


Oklahoma,  schools  of  Bene- 
dictine Srs.,  89, 179;  early 
ed.  history,  179. 

Oklahoma  City,  Okla.,  179. 

Oldenburg,  Ind.,  83,  84. 

Olympia,  Wash.,  164. 

Omaha,  diocese  of,  schools  of 
Ursuline  Sisters,  57; 
adopts  superintendent 
system,  206. 

Omaha,  Neb.,  schools  of  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  52 ;  of 
Ursulines,  57 ;  first 
schools,  153. 

Oregon,  schools  of  Sisters  of 
Immaculate  Heart,  61 ;  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  82;  of 
Srs.  of  Holy  Names,  94; 
early  ed.  history,  159- 
163;  compulsory  school 
legislation,  297 ;  see  also 
Portland  and  other  cities. 

Oregon  City,  Ore.,  161,  162, 
163. 

Ortynski,  Rt.  Rev.  Stephen 
S.,  335- 

Ottawa,  111.,  51. 

PANNA  Marya,  Tex.,  311,  314. 
Parent,   the,   and  the  school, 

220-240. 
Parish  priests,  and  the  school, 

198,  199. 
Parish     School     Conference, 

374-376,  377,  378,  379- 
Park  City,  Utah,  158. 
Pasadena,  Cal.,  95. 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  118. 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  52. 
Pembina,  N.   D.,  first  school 

in  State,  150. 


Index 


411 


Pennsylvania,  schools  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  82,  83 ; 
of  Christian  Bros.,  107 ; 
compulsory  school  legis- 
lation, 297 ;  German  Cath. 
schools  in  Berks  and 
Bucks  Counties,  300,  302  ; 
Slovaks  in  coal  and  iron 
regions,  333 ;  see  also 
Philadelphia  and  other 
cities. 

Peoria,  diocese  of,  Ursuline 
schools,  57;  Sisters  from, 
in  Okla.,  179. 

Peoria,  111.,  estab.  of  Bros,  of 
Mary,  118. 

Perry,  Okla.,  179. 

Philadelphia,  archdiocese  of, 
Sisters  of  Immaculate 
Heart,  61,  62;  plan  of 
school  organization,  206- 
210,  211 ;  German  schools, 
302. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  30 
seq. ;  of  Srs.  of  Notre 
Dame  (Xamur),  41;  of 
Srs.  of  Holy  Cross,  47; 
of  Srs.  of  Mercy,  52,  53; 
of  school  Srs.  of  Notre 
Dame.  74;  of  Franciscan 
Srs.,  81-83;  of  Srs.  of 
Holy  Child,  95  :  of  Bros. 
of  Cong,  of  Holy  Cross, 
102 ;  of  Christian  Bros., 
107;  plan  of  Bishop  Neu- 
mann for  school  organi- 
zation, 199,  276;  endow- 
ment of  St.  Charles' 
School,  278;  erection  of 
Cath.  High  School,  363, 


364;  effect  of  high 
schools  upon  parish 
schools,  369. 

Phoenix,   Ariz.,   178. 

Pierz,  Rev.  Francis,  149. 

Piopolis,  111.,  59. 

Pious  Fund,  of  Cal.,  171. 

Pittsburgh,  diocese  of, 
schools  of  Franciscan 
Srs.,  83 ;  of  Franciscan 
Bros.,  115;  plan  of  school 
organization,  208,  209 ; 
curriculum  of  schools, 
352. 

Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  arrival  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  48; 
their  first  school,  49; 
schools  of  Ursulines,  57 ; 
estab.  of  Srs.  of  Charity, 
68;  of  School  Srs.  of 
Notre  Dame,  73;  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  83. 

Pocantico  Hills,  N.  Y.,  105. 

Pocatello,  Idaho,  166. 

Poles,  Policy  of  Mother 
Caroline  Friess  in  regard 
to,  74;  see  Schools, 
Polish. 

Polonia,  Wis.,  314. 

Pomona,  Cal.,  95. 

Portier,     Rt.     Rev.     Michael, 

113. 

Portland,  archdiocese  of, 
schools  of  Srs.  of  Holy 
Names,  94 ;  early  ed. 
history,  159-163. 

Portland,  Conn.,  53. 

Portland,  Me.,  estab.  of  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  52. 

Portland,  Ore.,  schools  of 
Srs.  of  Holy  Names,  94, 


412 


Index 


95;  estab.  of  Christian 
Bros.,  109;  early  schools 
and  ed.  insts.,  161-163. 

Pottsville,  Pa.,  31. 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  see 
Poughkeepsie  Plan. 

Poughkeepsie  Plan,  238;  his- 
torical sketch  of,  253-258, 
260,  265-267. 

Power,  Mother  Emily,  sup.  of 
Srs.  of  St.  Dominic,  77, 
78. 

Prescott,  Ariz.,  178. 

Propaganda,  Cong,  of  the, 
grants  aid  to  acad.  at 
Bertrand,  Mich.,  44;  In- 
struction to  Amer.  Hier- 
archy on  public  schools, 
189-191 ;  decision  in  Fari- 
bault  school  case,  263. 
266. 

Providence,  diocese  of, 
schools  of  Bros.  of 
Sacred  Heart,  114. 

Providence,  R.  I.,  establish- 
ment of  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  51,  52;  of  Chris- 
tian Bros.,  106. 

Public  Schools,  attendance  of 
Cath.  children  at,  354-359. 

Pueblo,  Colo.,  157. 

Purcell,  Most  Rev.  John  B., 
archb.  of  Cincinnati, 
brings  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  from  Namur,  39 ; 
and  Srs.  of  Charity,  66; 
attitude  towards  parish 
schools,  185. 

QUEBEC,  Can.,  Srs.  of  Holy 
Names  from,  95 ;  other 


Sisterhoods     from,     304, 
305;     see    also    Schools, 
French  Canadian. 
Quigley,  Rev.  Patrick  F.,  219, 
241. 

RACINE,  Wis.,  80. 

Rappe,  Rt.  Rev.  Amadeus, 
186,  187. 

Ratisbon,  Bavaria,  Dominican 
Srs.  from,  79,  80. 

Reading,  Pa.,  Sisters  of  Im- 
maculate Heart,  61 ;  Ber- 
nardine  Srs.  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, 316. 

Redemptorists,  ed.  influence, 
60,  71,  73. 

Reinbolt,  Rev.  J.  N.,  sup.  of 
Bros,  of  Mary,  118. 

Religious  atmosphere  in 
schools,  see  Schools. 

Religious  orders,  the  nuclei 
of  educational  growth, 
20. 

Rennselaer,  N.  Y.,  53. 

Reno,  Nev.,  81,  172. 

Resurrectionists,  ed.  influ- 
ence, 313,  314. 

Rhode  Island,  compulsory 
school  legislation,  297 ; 
see  also  Providence. 

Richard,  Rev.  Gabriel,  60;  his 
text-books,  138. 

Richmond,  Va.,  schools  of 
Benedictine  Srs.,  90;  of 
Xaverian  Bros.,  121 ; 
estab.  of  Franciscan  Srs,. 
343- 

Ridgley,  Md.,  89. 


Index 


Riepp,  Mother  Bencclicta,  sup. 
of  Benedictine  Srs.,  86, 
89,  ISO. 

Rio  Grande  City,  Tex.,  91. 

Rochester,  N.  Y.,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  30, 
34;  of  Srs.  of  Mercy,  52  ; 
of  Bros,  of  Mary,  118. 

Rock  Hill  College,  Md.,  107. 

Rockville,  Conn.,  53. 

Rondout,  N.  Y.,  258. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  Presi- 
dent of  the  U.  S.,  ruling 
in  question  of  Indian 
Tribal  Funds,  340. 

Roxbury,  Mass.,  41. 

Rudolf,  Rev.  Father,  84. 

Ruma,  III,  59,  60. 

Rutland,  Vt,  33. 

Ryan,  James,  Cath.  book- 
seller, 138. 

Ryan,  Very  Rev.  M.  S.,  C.M., 

374- 

Ryan,  Most  Rev.  Patrick  J., 
archb.  of  Phila.,  207. 

Rykcn,  Theodore  (Bro.  Fran- 
cis Xavier),  founder  of 
Xaverian  Bros.,  119,  120. 


SACRAMENTO,  Cal.,  109. 
Sacramento,   diocese   of,   169, 

i/i. 

Sacred  Heart,  Okla.,  179. 
Sadlier,  D.  &  J.,  &  Co.,  Cath. 

publishers,  143. 
St.    Angela's     College,     New 

Rochelle,   N.   Y.,   56. 
St.    Augustine,      diocese     of, 

schools  of   Srs.  of  Holy 

Names,  94. 


St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  estab.  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  52. 

St.  Clara's  College  and  Acad- 
emy, Sinsinawa,  Wis.,  77, 
78. 

St.  Cloud,  diocese  of,  schools 
of  Benedictine  Srs.,  89. 

St.  Cloud,  Minn.,  89,  150. 

St.  Elizabeth's  College  and 
Academy,  Convent  Sta- 
tion, N.  J.,  70. 

St.  Francis  College,  Brooklyn, 

US- 

St.  Francisville,  111.,  36. 

St.  Helena,  Cal.,  55. 

St.  Ignatius  College,  San 
Francisco,  170. 

St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  52. 

St.  John's  College,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  107. 

St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  108. 

St.  Joseph's,  Stearns  Co., 
Minn.,  89,  150,  151. 

St.  Joseph's,  Susquehanna 
Co.,  Pa.,  61. 

St.  Louis,  archdiocese  of, 
schools  of  Sanguinist 
Srs.,  59;  of  Franciscan 
Srs.,  84;  negro  schools, 

343- 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  schools  of 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  29 
seq. ;  of  Srs.  of  Mercy, 
53;  of  Ursuline  Sisters, 
55,  56;  of  Sanguinist 
Sisters,  59;  of  school 
Srs.  of  Notre  Dame,  75 ; 
of  Christian  Bros.,  106, 
108;  of  Bros,  of  Mary, 
118;  per  capita  cost  of 
SS.  Peter  and  Paul's 


414 


Index 


School,  291 ;  per  capita 
cost  of  public  schools, 
291 ;  estab.  of  Polish 
Franciscan  school  Srs., 

315. 
St.  Martin's,  Brown  Co.,  O., 

54,  55- 

St.  Mary's  Academy  and  Col- 
lege, near  Notre  Dame, 
Ind.,  45-47- 

St.  Mary's  Academy  and  Col- 
lege, Portland,  Ore.,  162. 

St.  Mary's  College,  Oakland 
(San  Francisco),  109, 

I/O. 

St.  Mary's,  Elk  Co.,  Pa.,  86- 

91,  150. 
St.  Mary's  Institute,  Dayton, 

O.,  116. 
St.    Mary's    of    the    Woods, 

Ind.,  36-38. 
St.    Michael's   College,    Santa 

Fe,  1 08. 
St.  Palais,  Rt.  Rev.  James  M. 

de,  38,  114. 
St.      Paul,      archdiocese     of, 

schools     of     Benedictine 

Srs.,    89;     ed.    work    of 

Bishop   Cretin,    149,   150; 

Faribault  Plan,  258-265. 
St.  Paul,  Minn.,  Sisters  of  St. 

Joseph,  30  seq. ;   estab.  of 

Christian  Bros.,  109 ;    ed. 

work    of    Bishop    Cretin, 

149,  150. 

St.  Paul,  Ore.,  159,  162. 
St.  Peter's,  Ind.,  36. 
St.  Vincent's,  Pa.,  85,  152. 
Salem,  Ore.,  162. 
Salpointe,  Rt.  Rev.  J.  B.,  i;8. 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  47,  158. 


San  Antonio,  diocese  of, 
schools  of  Srs.  of  Incar- 
nate Word,  93,  174. 

San  Antonio,  Fla.,  90. 

San  Antonio,  Tex.,  Ursuline 
estab.,  54,  57,  173;  schools 
of  Srs.  of  Incarnate 
Word,  92,  93 ;  of  Srs.  of 
Divine  Providence,  96, 
174;  of  Bros,  of  Mary, 
117,  118,  173;  of  Srs.  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  343. 

San  Francisco,  archdiocese 
of,  early  ed.  history,  167- 
172. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  schools 
of  Sisters  of  Charity  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  29; 
of  Sisters  of  Mercy,  53 ; 
of  Srs.  of  Presentation, 
93 ;  of  Christian  Bros., 
106,  109;  early  ed.  his- 
tory, 167-171. 

San  Jose,  Cal.,  school  opened 
by  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame,  41 ;  Dominican 
Srs.,  79;  Srs.  of  Notre 
Dame  of  Namur,  169; 
Bros,  of  Mary,  170. 

San  Rafael,  Cal.,  168. 

Santa  Clara,  Cal..  168,  170. 

Santa  Clara  College,  170. 

Santa  Fe,  X.  M.,  68,  108; 
early  schools,  176-178. 

Santa  Monica,  Cal.,  95. 

Santa  Rosa,  Cal.,  estab.  of 
Ursuline  Sisters,  55. 

Satolli,  Most  Rev.  Francis, 
delegate-apostolic,  propo- 
sitions to  end  school  con- 
troversy, 242-247. 


Index 


Schencctady,  N.  Y.,  94. 

Schools,  Catholic: 
Attendance,  352-359- 
Belgian  schools,  337. 
Bohemian  schools,  88,  330, 

331- 

Colored  schools,  342-344. 

Cost  of,  school  buildings  in 
N.  Y.  State  in  1846,  123; 
actual  cost  of  Cath. 
schools,  290-293. 

Curriculum,  during  immi- 
gration period,  125  seq. ; 
general  hist,  sketch,  with 
typical  curricula  of  Cath. 
schools,  346-353 ;  for  cur- 
riculum of  schools  of 
foreign  nationalities,  see 
Schools,  German,  French, 
Polish,  etc. 

Deaf  and  Dumb,  345. 

Economic  side,  274-293 ;  of 
Indian  schools,  340,  341. 

Equipment  during  immi- 
gration period,  123,  124. 

French  schools,  302-307. 

German  schools,  299-302. 

High  schools,  68;  Christian 
Bros,  and,  no;  Bros,  of 
Mary,  116,  117;  Xaverian 
Bros.,  121 ;  Polish,  316; 
hist,  sketch  and  discus- 
sion of  high  school  move- 
ment, 360-370. 

Hungarian  schools,  336. 

Indian  schools,  and  meth- 
ods in,  in  Minn.,  149; 
among  the  Potawatomi, 
I5I-'53>  '79;  among  the 
Osagc,  152;  in  Montana, 
154,  155;  in  Ariz.,  179; 


Schools,  Catholic : 

in  general,  and  work  of 
Cath.  Indian  Bureau,  338- 
342. 

Industrial  schools,  344. 

Italian    schools,    307-310. 

Legislation  on,  181-196,  199- 
214. 

Life  and  work  during  im- 
migration period,  123- 
136. 

Lithuanian  schools,  331, 
332. 

Normal,  211-215. 

Organization,  during  the 
immigration  period,  20; 
growth  of  school  organi- 
zation, 197-216. 

Orphanages,  345. 

Polish  schools,  311-329. 

Portuguese   schools,  336. 

Religious  atmosphere,  .^25- 
129. 

Ruthenian  schools,  334-336. 

Slovak  schools,  333,  334. 
Spanish  schools,  329. 

and  the  state,  in  the  Da- 
kotas,  151 ;  in  Oregon, 
163;  in  Idaho,  166;  in 
California,  167 ;  in  Texas, 
173;  in  N.  Mexico,  178; 
discussion  of  principles, 
217-247;  state-supported 
Cath.  schools,  248-273 ; 
saving  to  the  state  from 
Cath.  schools,  284-290. 

Summer  schools  and  insti- 
tutes, 215,  216. 

Scranton,  diocese  of,  Sisters 
of  Immaculate  Heart,  61, 
62. 


416 


Index 


Scranton,  estab.  of  Sisters  of 
Immaculate  Heart,  61. 

Seattle,  diocese  of,  schools  of 
Benedictine  Srs.,  89 ; 
early  ed.  history,  163-165. 

Seattle,  Wash.,  94,  164,  165. 

Seminaries,  Catholic,  Confer- 
ence of,  see  Conference 
of  Cath.  Seminaries. 

Seton,  Mother,  Foundress  of 
Sisters  of  Charity,  63,  66, 
70. 

Seward,  William  H.,  Governor 
of  New  York,  ed.  policy 
for  children  of  foreign 
nationalities,  294. 

Sexes,  tendency  to  separate 
the,  in  school,  97,  124. 

Shahan,  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr. 
Thomas  J.,  378. 

Shanahan,  Rt.  Rev.  John  H., 
perfects  school  organiza- 
tion, 206,  207;  founds 
Lithuanian  sisterhood, 
332. 

Sharon  Hill,  Pa.,  96,  158. 

Sheahan,  Rev.  Joseph  F.,  pas- 
tor at  Poughkeepsie,  256, 
257,  266. 

Shoal  Creek,  Ark.,  88. 

Shorb,  Cal.,  95. 

Silver  City,  N.  Mex.,  177. 

Sinnott,  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  James 
P.,  278. 

Sinsinawa,  Wis.,  75-78. 

Sister  Charles  Borromeo, 
O.S.D.,  135. 

Sister  Ignatia,  of  Emmitts- 
burg,  136. 

Sister  Louise  (Josephine  von- 
der  Schriek),  sup.  of  Sis- 


ters    of     Notre     Dame 
(Namur),  39  seq. 
Sisterhoods  : 

Sisters  of  St.  Ann  (Can- 
ada), 304. 

Sisters  of  the  Assumption 
(Canada),  304. 

Baptistine  Sisters  (Italy), 
308. 

Basilian  Sisters  (Ruthe- 
nian),  336. 

Benedictine  Sisterhoods, 
85-91;  in  Kansas,  150- 
152,  163,  165;  in  Idaho, 
166;  in  Okla.,  179,  316; 
Bohemian  Benedictine 
Sisters  (Chicago),  330, 

333- 

Sisters  of  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament, 178,  342,  343. 

Congregation  of  St.  Casi- 
mir,  332. 

Sisters  of  Charity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  (Du- 
buque),  26  seq.,  148,  169. 

Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Em- 
mittsburg,  63,  66,  69,  169, 
170,  171 ;  of  Mt.  St.  Vin- 
cent, 63-66,  69,  70,  267;  of 
Cincinnati,  66-69,  7°>  157> 
178;  of  Convent  Station, 
N.  J.,  68,  69-71;  of 
Greensburg,  Pa.,  68;  of 
Kentucky,  152,  153;  of 
Leavenworth,  155,  157, 
158;  Srs.  of  Charity  of 
Providence  (Canada), 
154,164,167;  Slovak  Sis- 
ters of  Charity,  334 

Sisters  of  St.  Chretienne 
(Canada),  305. 


Index 


isterhoods : 

Sisters  of  Sts.  Cyril  and 
Methodius  (Slovak), 333. 

Sisters  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, 96,  174,  179,  316, 
342. 

Dominican  Sisterhoods,  79- 
81,  163,  165,  168,  169, 
1/2,  316;  of  Sinsinawa, 
75v8,  134;  of  Kentucky, 
79;  of  Somerset,  O.,  79, 
1 68,  174. 

Felician  Sisters  (Polish), 
314,  315. 

Filiae  Mariae,  316,  317. 

Franciscan  Sisterhoods,  Si- 
85.  336,  342;  Srs.  from 
Lafayette,  Ind.,  154,  178, 
316;  Srs.  from  Glen  Rid- 
dle, Pa.,  158,  163,  165, 
179;  Little  Franciscan 
Sisters  of  Mary  (Can- 
ada), 305;  Missionary 
Franciscan  Sisters  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception 
(Italy),  308;  from  Alle- 
ghany,  N.  Y.,  308;  School 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis 
(Mil.),  315,  316,  330; 
Polish  Franciscan  School 
Sisters,  315,  317;  Ber- 
nardine  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis  (Polish),  315, 
317;  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis  (St.  Cuncgunda), 
316,  317;  Sisters  of  St. 
Francis  (St.  Francis, 
Wis. ),  316;  Sisters  of 
Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis  (Joliet,  111.),  329, 


Sisterhoods : 

333 ;     Franciscan    Sisters 
from  England,  343. 

Sisters  of  the  Holy  Child 
Jesus,  95,  96,  158. 

Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
43-48,  102,  143;  in  Utah, 
158;  in  Idaho,  166,  169, 
174,  3i6. 

Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
and  Seven  Dolors  (Can- 
ada), 304. 

Sisters  of  the  Holy  Family 
of  Nazareth,  315,  331. 

Congregation  of  the  Sisters 
of  the  Holy  Family  (col- 
ored), 343. 

Sisters  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
(Canada),  304,  337;  of 
Texas,  343. 

Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names 
of  Jesus  and  Mary,  94, 
95;  in  Oregon,  161,  162; 
in  Wash.,  164,  165 ;  in 
Idaho,  165,  166;  in  Cal., 
169. 

Sisters  of  the  Incarnate 
Word,  91-93,  174,316,333. 

Sisters  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
(Canada),  304. 

Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  29 
seq. ;  Srs.  from  Caron- 
delet,  150,  157,  169,  171, 
178;  from  Tipton,  Ind., 
167  ;  from  Canada,  304 ; 
Polish  Sisters  of  St.  Jo- 
seph, 315-  3i6,  317. 

Sisters  of  Loretto,  in  Kan- 
sas, 152;  in  Colo.,  156, 
157;  in  N.  Mexico,  177; 
in  Arizona,  178. 


418 


Index 


Sisterhoods : 
Sisters    of    Mary    of    the 

Presentation,  151. 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  48-53, 132, 

133,  153,  157,  163,  169, 179, 

316. 
Sisters     of     Mt.     Carmel 

(N.  O.),  343- 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  of 

Cleveland,    O.,    330,    333, 

336,  337- 

Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 
(Namur),  39-43,  ^27, 
130;  in  Oregon,  160,  161 ; 
in  Cal.,  168,  169. 

Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 
(School  Sisters),  71-75, 
131,  174,  291 ;  Polish 
schools,  316,  317,  323; 
Bohemian  schools,  329 ; 
curriculum  of  a  typical 
school,  351. 

Sisters  of  the  Congregation 
of  Notre  Dame  (Can- 
ada), 305. 

Sisters  of  the  Most  Pre- 
cious Blood,  58-60,  178. 

Sisters  of  the  Presentation 
(Presentation  Nuns),  93, 
150,  169;  from  Canada, 

304. 

Sisters  of  Providence  (In- 
diana), 35  seq.,  102. 

Oblate  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence (Bait),  60,  343. 

Sisters  of  the  Resurrection 
(Polish),  315,  317. 

Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart, 
152,  165,  169. 

Missionary  Sisters  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  308. 


Sisterhoods : 

Sisters  of  St.  Mary,  of 
Ore.,  163;  of  Lockport, 
N.  Y.,  174. 

Sisters-Servants  of  the  Im- 
maculate Heart  of  Mary, 
60-62,  163,   165,   167,  171, 
333;     from   Canada,  305. 
Ursuline  Sisters,  54-58;    in 
Montana,    155,    342,    167, 
169;     in   Texas,   173;    in 
Cleveland,  337. 
Visitation  Sisters,  in  Wash., 
165. 

Sisters,  salaries,  279-284. 

Skinner,  Charles  R.,  supt.  of 
schools  of  N.  Y.  State, 
266,  267,  268. 

Smith,  Rev.  Joseph  F.,  Pres. 
of  Parish  School  Confer- 
ence, 376. 

Socorro,  N.  Mex.,  177. 

Somerset,  O.,  76. 

Sorin,  Rev.  Edward,  sup.  of 
Cong,  of  Holy  Cross,  ap- 
peals for  Sisters  of  Holy 
Cross,  44;  influence  in 
the  development  of  the 
sisterhood,  45 ;  patriot- 
ism, 46;  brings  teaching 
Bros,  from  France,  102, 
103. 

South  Bend,  Ind.,  47. 

South  Dakota,  first  schools, 
151- 

Spalding,  Rt.  Rev.  John  L., 
edits  series  of  readers, 
144;  in  Third  Plenary 
Council,  192;  pleads  for 
normal  schools,  214,  215. 


Index 


419 


Spalding,  Most  Rev.  Martin 
J.,  brings  Xaverian  Bros, 
to  Louisville,  120,  and  to 
Baltimore,  121 ;  attitude 
towards  parish  schools, 
185,  229;  plea  for  public 
support  of  denomina- 
tional schools,  270. 

Spalding,  Neb.,  115. 

Spokane,  Wash.,  94,  165. 

Sprague,  Wash.,  164. 

Springfield,  Mass.,  34. 

Staimer,  Mother  Seraphina, 
sup.  of  Dominican  Srs., 
80. 

Stang,  Rt.  Rev.  William,  229. 

State,  the,  and  Cath.  schools, 
see  Schools,  Cath. 

Stehle,  Very  Rev.  Walter, 
O.S.B.,  374- 

Steilacoom,  Wash.,  164. 

Stephan,  Rev.  J.  A.,  339,  341. 

Stephen's  Point,  Wis.,  315. 

Stillwater,  Minn.,  see  Fari- 
bault  Plan. 

Stintzi,  Bro.  John  B.,  of  Bros, 
of  Mary,  116,  119. 

Stockton,  Cal.,  i/o. 

Summer  schools  and  insti- 
tutes of  the  religious 
orders,  215. 

Superintendent  system  of  in- 
spection of  schools,  205- 
210. 

Susquehanna,  Pa.,  61. 

Suspension  Bridge,  N.  Y., 
258. 

Switzerland,  Sisters  from, 
58 ;  Benedictine  Srs.,  90, 
166. 


Synod    of     Baltimore,    First, 

181. 
Synod  of  Cleveland,  Fourth, 

186. 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  83,  106. 


TAMPA,   Fla.,   94. 

Taos,  N.  Mex.,  176,  177. 

Teachers,  in  immigration 
period,  22  seq. ;  lay  vs. 
religious,  125,  188,  216, 
305;  their  life  and  work 
in  immigration  period, 
129-136;  number  and 
distribution  of  religious 
teachers,  216;  number  of 
male  teachers,  216;  teach- 
ers' salaries,  279-284 ; 
early  Polish  teachers, 
312;  teachers  in  Ruthe- 
nian  schools,  335 ;  see 
teaching  communities,  sis- 
terhoods, brotherhoods, 
etc. 

Teaching  brotherhoods,  at- 
tempts to  establish,  97, 
98;  unfavorable  condi- 
tions for,  98-100;  de- 
mand for,  101 ;  and  high 
schools,  101 ;  number  of, 
216. 

Teaching  communities,  as 
organization-centers,  20, 
21 ;  characteristics  of,  22 
seq. ;  character  and  or- 
ganization, 210-216;  num- 
ber of,  216;  for  work  of 
individual  communities 
see  sisterhoods  and 
brotherhoods. 


420 


Index 


Tennessee,  schools  of  Srs.  of 
Charity,  68. 

Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  35.  38. 

Texas,  estab.  of  Srs.  of  In- 
carnate Word,  91-93;  of 
Srs.  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, 96;  early  ed.  his- 
tory, 172-174;  compul- 
sory school  legislation, 
297;  Polish  settlements, 
311;  Spanish  schools, 
329;  see  also  San  Antonio 
and  other  cities. 

Text-books,  hist,  sketch,  136- 
145 ;  legislation  of  Pro- 
vincial Councils  of  Bait, 
on,  181-183;  nrst  Polish 
text-books,  313. 

Thompson,  O.,  58. 

Tiffin,  O.,  Ursuline  estab.,  54. 

Timon,  Rt.  Rev.  John,  and 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  34; 
and  Christian  Bros.,  106. 

Tipton,  Ind.,  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  35,  167. 

Titusville,  Pa.,  51. 

Toledo,  O.,  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  (Namur),  40;  Ur- 
suline estab.,  54,  55. 

Tolerari  potest,  decision  in 
Faribault  school  case, 
263,  264 ;  see  Faribault 
Plan. 

Toronto,  Can.,  33. 

Torrington,  Conn.,  53. 

Trenton,  diocese  of,  estab.  of 
Bros,  of  Sacred  Heart, 
114. 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  103. 

Trinity  College,  Washington, 
D.  C,  43,  361. 


Troy,  N.  Y.,  Sisters  of  St 
Joseph,  30;  estab.  of 
Christian  Bros.,  106. 

Tucson,  Ariz.,  30,  178. 

UTAH,  schools  of  Sisters  of 
Holy  Cross,  47,  157,  158. 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  1 06. 

VANCOUVER,  B.  C.,  109. 
Vermont,   compulsory   school 

legislation,  297. 
Verot,  Rt.  Rev.  Augustine,  94. 
Vicksburg,  Miss.,  113. 
Vienna,    Austria,    Franciscan 

Srs.  from,  84. 
Vincennes,    Ind.,    Sisters    of 

Providence,   35,   36. 
Virginia,  schools  of  Xaverian 

Bros.,  121, •  see  Richmond 

and  other  cities. 
Virginia  City,  Nev.,  172. 
Volanski,  Rev.  Ivan,  335. 

WALLA   WALLA,   Wash.,    163, 

164. 
Walsh,  Very  Rev.  E.  J.,  CM., 

374- 
Walsh,  Rt.  Rev.  Louis  S.,  288, 

375- 

Waltham,  Mass.,  106. 

Warde,  Mother  Mary  Frances 
Xavier,  sup.  of  the  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  48-52; 
catechetical  method,  127. 

Washington,  schools  of  Srs. 
of  Immaculate  Heart,  61  ; 
of  Franciscan  Srs.,  82; 
early  ed.  history,  163-165; 
see  Seattle  and  other 
cities. 


Index 


421 


Washington,  .  D.  C,  Trinity 
College,  43 ;  schools  of 
Sisters  of  Holy  Cross.  47. 

Washington,  Ind.,  38. 

Watertown,  N.  Y.,  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph,  34. 

Waterville,  Me.,  57. 

Watervliet,  N.  Y.,  258. 

West  Chester,  Pa.  (Villa 
Maria),  61. 

Western  States,  Far  West, 
146-180. 

Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  Sisters  of 
St.  Joseph,  30,  34. 

Whelan,  Rt.  Rev.  R.  V.,  34. 

Wichita,  Kan.,  diocese  of, 
schools  of  Sanguinist 
Sisters,  59. 

Wilkes-Barre,   Pa.,  51. 

Wilmington,  Del.,  estab.  of 
Ursuline  Sisters,  55;  of 
Franciscan  Srs.,  82. 

Wimmer,  Rt.  Rev.  Abbot 
Boniface,  brings  Do- 
minican Srs.  from  Ba- 
varia, 80. 


Wisconsin,  schools  in,  29; 
schools  of  Srs.  of  St. 
Dominic,  77;  of  Do- 
minican Srs.  of  Racine, 
80;  of  Bros,  of  Mary, 
118;  legislation  against 
denominational  schools, 
218;  German  Cath. 
schools,  300;  Polish  set- 
tlements and  schools, 
311;  see  Milwaukee  and 
other  cities. 

Wood,  Most  Rev.  James  F., 
96. 

Wyoming,  schools  of  Fran- 
ciscan Srs.,  82;  first 
schools,  158. 

YANKTON,  S.  Dak.,  90,  151. 
York,  Neb.,  57. 
Youngstown,      O.,      Ursuline 

estab.,  54. 
Yuma,  Ariz.,  178. 
Yreka,  Cal.,  52. 

ZEHLER,    Bro.    Maximin,    116, 

117. 
Zwiardowski,  Rev.  Felix,  314. 


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